Sophomore Outside Hitter Lauren Wieber has been awarded Honorable Mention All-American for NJCAA Div. II, one of two volleyball players from Michigan to finish in one of the three ranks for All-Americans. The other being Sophomore Setter from Muskegon Community College, Lindsey Jacobs who finished Second Team All-American.
Wieber finished this season as a standout performer for GRCC, earning 433 kills, 103 assists, 30 blocks and playing in 131 of 133 sets on the season.
And some believe she was capable of this accomplishment before she received the acknowledgment.
“We were calling her All-American before she was an All-American,” said GRCC Athletic Director Billy Firn. “So there were a lot of expectations on her and for someone to have a lot of expectations on them, and meet those, that’s pretty good. That says a lot about the person’s character and their work ethic.”
Wieber was faced with some serious defenses this season with a lot of teams knowing all too well what she is capable of on the offensive side of the ball. Yet Wieber still went out and “got hers” according to Firn.
“There is pressure to perform especially when the other team’s got a bullseye on you,” Firn said. “Yet she still went out and led the team … she was fiery on the court … and a lot of the times, like in the fifth sets of some matches, we were ‘ride or die’ with Lauren. We would pass it to her, the other team knows it’s going to her, we know it’s going to her, and she would make it happen.”
This accomplishment for Wieber has been something she’s thought about since she was a kid.
“It’s every girl’s dream, right?” Wieber said. “My mom used to say ‘one day Lauren’ … and here we are.”
Wieber credits a lot of her success to her teammates as they have been “pushing her the whole season,” Wieber said.
“There is no way I could’ve gotten this without them. They are my backbone, always pushing me to be better.”
Wieber has contributed a lot of her energy and time throughout her two years with the GRCC volleyball program and her skill set will be hard to match by the incoming freshman and sophomore class next season.
Wieber, 19, is seriously considering Lourdes College (OH) as the next step in her volleyball journey, and will plan on majoring in general science.
