Wichita State volleyball junior Melissa Granville is one of the MVC’s best back-row defenders and a person respected by the coaching staff for her volleyball smarts. I don’t know if coaching is in her future, but she seems like a natural. She knows what is going on all over the court at all times, which is probably one of the reasons she is so valuable to coach Chris Lamb.I enjoy talking to her because she explains volleyball in ways I can understand, which isn’t always easy.
The 14th-ranked Shockers play Northern Iowa – both are unbeaten in the MVC – in a showdown Friday at Koch Arena. Granville will be in her familiar role as defensive specialist. She is also one of WSU’s strongest servers, as evidenced by her 15 aces, second on the team.
Q. Describe Northern Iowa in one sentence.
A. UNI is competitive and physical.
Q. Who plays Chris Lamb in the movie about Shocker volleyball?
A. William Shatner. I don’t know – should I give him a good one – Brad Pitt.
Q. Who is the most overlooked player on WSU’s team?
A. Angela (Jakubov). She can do a lot of things and she always does. She plays a lot of positions. She’s had to battle throughout the years because we’ve had, obviously, some good lefts and she played left her first year. Then she was a passing middle, which you never find in college, it just doesn’t happen. She’s just battled throughout her career and I don’t think people give her credit for that.
Q. Obama or McCain?
A. Obama. I agree with his policies a lot more, and I absolutely hate (Sarah) Palin. Well, I don’t hate her, but I disagree with her policies pretty much. I try not to focus on her personality-wise.