Northwest at Washburn  |  Friday, Oct. 17  |  7 p.m.  |  Live Stats
Northwest at Emporia State  |  Saturday, Oct. 18  |  7 p.m.  |  Live Stats

By David Boyce

MARYVILLE, Mo. - In the last 30 days, Northwest Missouri State volleyball team went to five sets in four home matches.
 
Five set matches are pressure filled. It is the first team to 15, winning by at least two points. One mistake can cost a team a victory.
 
The setter, the quarterback on the court, needs to be focused and savvy on which hitter to set up. Often, the starting setter is a junior or senior.
 
Northwest is counting on freshman Sarah Dannettell, who is from Windsor, Colo. She is delivering in those intense moments. The Bearcats won three of those matches.
 
"The ones we win in five sets are a little rough on my body," Dannettell said. "Winning those are almost more rewarding. The victory taste a little sweeter when you have to fight for it. Of course, we would prefer to take teams in three."
 
Dannettell leads the Bearcats with 721 sets, averaging a little over 10 sets per set. She is performing beyond her college years.
 
"She really prides herself on leadership," said Northwest head volleyball coach Amy Woerth. "When you are the setter, you are the quarterback on the team. To be able to come in and lead at such a young age is a tribute to how well she carries herself."
 
Dannettell's high school resume backs up Woerth's assertion that she is a leader. She was a two-time team captain for her volleyball team at Fossil Ridge High School. She also served two years on the student council executive board in high school.
 
Playing college volleyball has always been a dream for Dannettell.
 
"I have been playing club and school volleyball for nine years before coming here," Dannettell said. "It is something I love and wanted to continue doing.
 
"I love my coaches. I love my teammates. I love Northwest."
 
Her zest for volleyball is easy to see when watching her on the court. She always seems to smile and is constantly communicating with her teammates.
 
Dannettell credits sophomore Miranda Foster and all the older players for making the transition to college volleyball easier.
 
"They have been absolutely fantastic," Dannettell said. "Miranda Foster has been great. She has taken me to church. The seniors have been fantastic as well. They have done a great job of welcoming all the freshmen in because there are so many of us.
 
"It has been very overwhelming for them to have half the team new, but they have really helped us."
 
Listening to Dannettell it is easy to hear that she is enjoying her first year as a student-athlete at Northwest.
 
"One of the things I'm enjoying is how many people I am meeting," Dannettell said. "It has been interesting to see football players and baseball players, soccer players and then seeing them in the library and the training room and forming those relationships.
 
"I like how I am not just making friends with the volleyball players, but I am making friends with students in the athletic community. I have some of them in classes. We can relate about how tough practice was. It is really good family community."
 
On the volleyball court, this is a challenging week for the Bearcats. They have three road matches. They lost at Missouri Western on Tuesday. Northwest returns to action on Friday at Washburn and then play at Emporia State on Saturday.
 
"Playing three matches in a week is always tough, physically and mentally," Woerth said. "It is really about being consistent on the road. Washburn is a tough team. We have to compete with them point by point. Emporia, we have to play them point by point, but the focus is getting the series sweep."
 
Dannettell echoed Woerth's sentiments in saying this is an important week for the Bearcats, who are 9-10 overall and 6-5 and in sixth place in the MIAA.
 
"It is the first time that we will be playing teams twice," she said. "Going to Washburn, we have to play with a little bit of a chip on our shoulders with a taste of revenge. We are going to have that motivation."
 
Dannettell has quickly learned about the high level of competition in the MIAA, especially from the teams in the upper half of conference.
 
"I think the competition has been a little more than I expected," Dannettell said. "I came in here, not expecting it to be a walk in the park, but I didn't expect the competition to be as intense as it is. I view it as a challenge. I think I am growing as a player and as a person."