Peninsula’s Griffin commits to UW volleyball

Peninsula High School senior Maeve Griffin has made her commitment to play indoor and beach volleyball at the University of Washington next year.

More than just the next level, the school also represents a dream Griffin has had for a long time.

“Both my parents went to UW, that’s where they met,” Griffin said. “It has been my dream school ever since I was little. I’ve grown up always going to football games there. It feels like the right fit for me. I love the coaches. It’s a great program.”

Griffin’s former coach in high school, Katrina Cardinal, was all praise of Griffin and what she will bring to college play even as she will miss her.

“Maeve has leadership qualities that we are really going to miss next year. She is an incredible student athlete. She has got such strength in not just her work ethic but her physicality, her abilities on the court, her athleticism,” Cardinal said. “She is one of those kids that only comes around every once in a while and we were lucky to have her in our program.”

What drew her to the UW program exactly? She has a pretty good idea of what she is looking for.

“The drive and the intensity that UW has is really one of the things that I considered. I love the efficiency,” Griffin said. “I just think that the drive they have to compete and to be that No. 1 team.”

She hopes that this drive will help improve her individual game.

“I always want to grow my game and play at the highest level I can,” Griffin said. “I think that UW has that to offer.”

What does she hope to grow about her game specifically? It comes down to a question of both technique and mental fortitude.

“I think I can always grow skill wise,” Griffin said. “Then even more as a player and as a teammate. Specifically playing at the highest level I can, so at the Division I level, I think there is so much to learn from the knowledge and the mental game as well as the physical game.”

Griffin already says that she has strong mental toughness and a capacity to keep a cool head even in high intensity games which she hopes to further hone.

“I think performing under pressure is one of those things. I’ve always risen to the occasion and perform when I need to which is great,” Griffin said. “But I think that playing at the college level will help with that even more. You get the opportunity to play under pressure constantly which is super cool.”

It doesn’t stop there; she hopes to up her physical game as well.

“As far as the physical side of it, just really playing to my potential. Using my athleticism and my 100 percent work ethic and effort to perform specifically in the back row,” Griffin said.

That back row is where she feels at home and where she likes to rally the team in big games.

“I’m super loud and pumped up as well I have that leadership role which is really helpful,” Griffin said. “I think it’s my intensity. Just the mindset of that a ball never drops.”

That hard work ethic was echoed by Cardinal who highlighted how much Griffin will put in to get better personally and also help the team. “She will number one outwork every kid in the program or at least try to. She has that much determination,” Cardinal said. “No. 2, she will be the best teammate to her team as well. She’ll jump into it with the family mindset.”

Cardinal also highlighted Griffin’s strong court vision and awareness.“On the court it’s about her ability to read. How well she reads when it comes to defensive play,” Cardinal said. “Her ability to see what is happening on the other side of the court and then get herself in position in that defensive positioning.”

Griffin wants to take these abilities and hit the ground running as much as possible while understanding that she will have to put in the work to earn a spot on the team.

“The team comes first so my goal is to help contribute to the team in whatever way they need me so if that’s on the court, that’s great,” Griffin said. “Playing time, nothing is guaranteed so that’s up in the air. It has got to be earned.”

If she is able to earn that spot, she has a specific position in mind that she would play in.

“As far as positions, I’ll be Libero or DS (Defensive Specialist),” Griffin said. “That is the position I would see myself in and that is what I would choose.”

No matter what happens, she is excited to play on the team that she has already formed a connection with.

“I love them. They are super cool. They’re very welcoming and yet they take athletics very seriously,” Griffin said. “You can see that they all get along very well together.”

How will that team bonding stack up against the tough field? Griffin recognizes the road ahead will be a hard one but remains excited.

“There is no doubt that at the D1 level there is a lot of competition. All of the teams are really good and super strong,” Griffin said. “I’m excited. It’s going to be a great challenge.”

She does have one team in particular that is a long running rivalry that she is looking forward to playing against.

“I think playing WSU is cool because that’s just the known rivalry,” Griffin said.

No matter what team they play, rivalry or no, Griffin will be putting in the work to get her team the win.