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Girard’s Jay competed for Division III crown
By CHARLES GROVE
Bryanna Jay’s college volleyball career lasted a little bit longer than most.
A 2012 graduate of Girard High School, Jay played for Wittenberg which finished runner-up in the Division III tournament. In last month’s final, Cal Lutheran defeated Wittenberg for the crown.
“There was definitely a lot of emotion after the game especially for the seniors since that’s the last game we’ll ever play,” Jay said. “It was almost like a numbing feeling when it’s over.
“You’re obviously upset because you tried and you came so far just to get your [bottom] kicked but it was a mixture of being upset and frustrated because you ended your season and career on a loss again,” Jay said. “At that moment it didn’t matter that we had made it all the way to the national championship game. It didn’t matter because we still lost.”
Jay’s path to the championship was a bit unusual. In high school, she received numerous awards, including Player of the Year for the All-American Conference and Northeast District. Division I schools expressed interest, but her heart was set on attending Wittenberg, a small, liberal-arts college in Springfield.
“Division III is a special place,” Jay said. “You can really maximize your potential on the court and in the classroom.
“It really gives you that sense of community I felt coming from a small town like Girard that I don’t think you can get at some bigger schools,” Jay said. “That quality of education and that one-on-one attention while you can still compete on the big stage makes a very unique experience.”
Jay’s volleyball career began 10 years ago when Morgan Walters, a sixth-grade classmate, convinced her to give volleyball a try. Jay was placed on a team with girls who had been playing for several years, but Walters said Jay’s work ethic propelled her to one of the area’s top players.
“Honestly, she struggled at first,” Walters said. “It was a whole new world for her and the team she got put on had a roster of girls who had been playing for about five years already.
“As a blocker she quickly learned how to read hitters, she knew where the ball was going,” Walters said. “As an attacker, she became one of the best offensive players in the district. For coming into the game later than the rest of us, she sure picked it up quick and turned herself into a stud.”
Jay said she enjoyed the quick pace of play and the ability to reset the match after each set, something you can’t always do in basketball.
“I loved how fast-paced it was and how momentum is such a big factor,” Jay said. “I also loved how once a set is done, it’s done, and the score doesn’t carry over to the next set.
“So the ability to reset the game each set is what i really like now. It slows the game down and gives me time to think in-between plays.”
As a junior, Jay visited the University of Pittsburgh, Ohio State and Yale. Wittenberg’s coach saw her video and called to schedule a visit.
Jay said Wittenberg “hooked me right from the beginning.”
“I came to Wittenberg and it was just the perfect balance between athletics and academics that I couldn’t get anywhere else,” Jay said. “There’s not many colleges where you can go to and play in a national championship while applying to med school. ”
Wittenberg qualified for the NCAA Tournament each of her four years. The first three years the Tigers advanced to the Sweet 16.
“For us, making it to the Sweet 16 wasn’t something we considered too successful,” Jay said. “It sounds weird but our culture is kind of ‘The Sweet 16 isn’t good enough.’”
In 2014, frustration was at an all-time high after losing in the Sweet 16 for the third year in a row when the Tigers were beaten by eventual national champion Hope College Jay called that moment the worst of her collegiate career.
Wins over Clarkson University and Hendrix College put Wittenberg in the championship game.
Jay will graduate this spring with a bachelor’s degree in biology. She’s interviewing at a number of medical schools as she hopes to become an orthopedic surgeon.