By: Matt West

Playing volleyball is something Melissa Griffin has excelled at since her first days in high school.
Starting on the varsity squad all four years at Our Lady of Nazareth in Wakefield, MA, Griffin was a captain on the team during her junior and senior years. Additionally, she played for the Andover Pumas, a Junior Olympic Volleyball team. This club team is a member of New England Regional Volleyball Association and competes in tournaments throughout the area.

A Business Management major here at Suffolk, Griffin has found a knack for the game and has displayed these talents in her first two years here. When asked what she loves most about playing volleyball, she held nothing back. “Honestly everything,” she explained. “I love getting kills [spikes], I love digging kills and serving.”

Although the team has struggled throughout the season, currently sporting a 7-15 record with one game remaining in the regular season, she feels they can end the year on a high note and carry that momentum with them into the following season.

“Record wise, we’re not where we should be,” she said. “We are a truly talented but young team and still need to learn how to play well with each other because the skills are definitely there. We also let mentality come into play in a bad way. Next year we will be putting everything together better and Suffolk will see a much better record from [its] volleyball team.”

From a personal standpoint, even with the sub-par record, Griffin has accomplished a lot in her first two seasons with the team. She was named to the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team last season, an award given to a student-athlete on each team in the conference to recognize their achievements.
This season, she leads or is close to leading most statistical categories, including kills-per-game, service aces, and total attempts.

“Personally, I’m not the tallest player [5’7” outside hitter] but I’d really like to get one more block,” said an ambitious Griffin. “I think I actually only have one this whole season.”

With the season wrapping up and the postseason out of reach (the team is currently 3-7 in the conference), the team has begun to turn its focus to next year. However, with seven underclassmen on the current squad, Griffin and her teammates have a lot to look forward to.

“Our team is young, and we are only losing one senior, although she is a very talented player and it will be tough to fill her shoes,” she emphasized. “So we have more than enough skill and the right tools to come back harder next year and show that the underdog can have [its] time to be on top.”

Although the team as a whole may have fallen short of its pre-season expectations, Griffin seemed to only get better as the year progressed, becoming an all-around player from whom Suffolk volleyball fans can expect a lot more in the coming seasons.

To hear her say it, not only will she be a better player next year, the team as a whole will continue to grow.

“We know what we need to work on,” she said. “Every loss is just another reason to get better.”