SE: Never Satisfied, Mutiri Looks to Bring More for K-State VB
Sep 04, 2019 | Volleyball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
There were times last season when K-State volleyball's Gloria Mutiri would feel good about how she was playing. Then, she would get into a practice and feel completely different.
Therein lies the core reason to Mutiri's success last year for the Wildcats, which included earning AVCA All-America Honorable Mention recognition and being named the AVCA Midwest Freshman of the Year and to its All-Midwest Region Team.
She's never satisfied. Good is never good enough.
"I definitely think I have a lot of room to grow. That's always been who I am," the true sophomore said, as the Wildcats (1-2) open their home schedule against Clemson in Bramlage Coliseum on Thursday at 6 p.m., their first of three matches in the K-State Invitational. "Even if there's a good situation, I want to make it better. That's how I think about myself last season. I think I had a pretty solid freshman season, but I'm excited about what I can do and the growth I can make."
As a freshman, the left-handed opposite racked up 271 kills (second on the team), 67 blocks (third) and 320.0 points (second). Her hitting percentage (.263) and kills per set (2.77) for the season were consistent, as she hit .243 and recorded 2.69 kills per set in Big 12 play.
Again, her steady play came back to her personality, a blend of confidence and insatiable hunger.
"I don't think I'm ever at a point where I'm, like, 'OK, I'm 100 percent confident in what I'm doing,' and I don't think there's a point where I don't know what I'm doing and really insecure," the All-Big 12 Rookie and Second Team pick said. "So, I try to stay right in between that, always working hard but staying humble and wanting to get better."
That goes for everything. Not just volleyball.
"I'm never really satisfied with how things are ever going. I want things to be better all the time," Mutiri said. "Even academically, I'm not very academically inclined and I'm working on being more responsible and really honing in on school and trying to make it a priority, get better at that, get better at organizing myself, making priorities…so there's room for growth everywhere."
On the court, Mutiri said she focused in the offseason on her defensive abilities, whether that be blocking at the net or passing out of the back row. She said she also wanted to widen her range, offensively, and not be a "one-shot wonder."
"I'm trying to do better at those because I think those are positions where I can help this team grow," Mutiri said, with 28 kills and a .349 hitting percentage through three matches this season. "If I grow in those areas, this team will grow. With my serving, with my defense, if I can contribute to this team better and at a higher level, then we'll definitely be better."
Mutiri's focus, K-State head coach Suzie Fritz said, is different than most. Her goals are more than words on a piece of paper. Fritz said Mutiri's "process" helps them become quickly achievable.
"Glo's process is really good. She loves to watch film. She loves to learn. She's incredibly attentive. She takes feedback really well. She works at it — really works at it — and not just when she's here, but she works at it when she's not here," Fritz said. "It's important to her, and she's very driven and wants to be really good.
"As a player gets older, it's not necessarily about what they can do for one play, because Glo has always been that way. But, now, what she's doing on a day-to-day basis and what she's doing on a play-to-play basis is starting to change. Her dependability, her consistency, the things that you expect from veteran players, we're starting to feel that a little bit more."
Mutiri's teammates are also starting to hear her more. While only in her second season, Mutiri's talent and maturity on a team with only three upperclassmen opened the door to an increased leadership role this season.
"Obviously, she's super athletic, crazy good. But I've seen her improve so much from a leadership standpoint," redshirt junior middle blocker Peyton Williams said. "I've seen her step up and speak into the team settings a lot more. People look to her more than they did. That's been so cool to come back and see that improvement just in that short time."
"Her leadership role has really grown," added senior setter Sarah Dixon. "Having a year of experience under her belt, she's really taken major leaps in just how to show the girls how to conduct themselves on and off the court. She has really good relationships with everyone and she's a person that everyone can come to talk to. She's finding her voice, so it's been really cool to see."
This growth, Mutiri said, did not come naturally. The team's tour of Brazil in the summer helped. But, like everything else, so has her personality. She's worked hard on it. She still is.
"I love to have fun, I love my team, and, in my mind, I don't think of myself as, 'Oh, yeah, I'm a huge leader for this team,' but I definitely have a big impact. I want to use that," she said. "I'm trying to work on taking that leadership role and being very responsible with it, because I know this team trusts me and I trust them, so I really want to work hard to help them and be supportive, be the best leader I can be. That's another area with room for growth."
There were times last season when K-State volleyball's Gloria Mutiri would feel good about how she was playing. Then, she would get into a practice and feel completely different.
Therein lies the core reason to Mutiri's success last year for the Wildcats, which included earning AVCA All-America Honorable Mention recognition and being named the AVCA Midwest Freshman of the Year and to its All-Midwest Region Team.
She's never satisfied. Good is never good enough.
"I definitely think I have a lot of room to grow. That's always been who I am," the true sophomore said, as the Wildcats (1-2) open their home schedule against Clemson in Bramlage Coliseum on Thursday at 6 p.m., their first of three matches in the K-State Invitational. "Even if there's a good situation, I want to make it better. That's how I think about myself last season. I think I had a pretty solid freshman season, but I'm excited about what I can do and the growth I can make."
As a freshman, the left-handed opposite racked up 271 kills (second on the team), 67 blocks (third) and 320.0 points (second). Her hitting percentage (.263) and kills per set (2.77) for the season were consistent, as she hit .243 and recorded 2.69 kills per set in Big 12 play.
Again, her steady play came back to her personality, a blend of confidence and insatiable hunger.
"I don't think I'm ever at a point where I'm, like, 'OK, I'm 100 percent confident in what I'm doing,' and I don't think there's a point where I don't know what I'm doing and really insecure," the All-Big 12 Rookie and Second Team pick said. "So, I try to stay right in between that, always working hard but staying humble and wanting to get better."
That goes for everything. Not just volleyball.
"I'm never really satisfied with how things are ever going. I want things to be better all the time," Mutiri said. "Even academically, I'm not very academically inclined and I'm working on being more responsible and really honing in on school and trying to make it a priority, get better at that, get better at organizing myself, making priorities…so there's room for growth everywhere."
On the court, Mutiri said she focused in the offseason on her defensive abilities, whether that be blocking at the net or passing out of the back row. She said she also wanted to widen her range, offensively, and not be a "one-shot wonder."
"I'm trying to do better at those because I think those are positions where I can help this team grow," Mutiri said, with 28 kills and a .349 hitting percentage through three matches this season. "If I grow in those areas, this team will grow. With my serving, with my defense, if I can contribute to this team better and at a higher level, then we'll definitely be better."
Mutiri's focus, K-State head coach Suzie Fritz said, is different than most. Her goals are more than words on a piece of paper. Fritz said Mutiri's "process" helps them become quickly achievable.
"Glo's process is really good. She loves to watch film. She loves to learn. She's incredibly attentive. She takes feedback really well. She works at it — really works at it — and not just when she's here, but she works at it when she's not here," Fritz said. "It's important to her, and she's very driven and wants to be really good.
"As a player gets older, it's not necessarily about what they can do for one play, because Glo has always been that way. But, now, what she's doing on a day-to-day basis and what she's doing on a play-to-play basis is starting to change. Her dependability, her consistency, the things that you expect from veteran players, we're starting to feel that a little bit more."
Mutiri's teammates are also starting to hear her more. While only in her second season, Mutiri's talent and maturity on a team with only three upperclassmen opened the door to an increased leadership role this season.
"Obviously, she's super athletic, crazy good. But I've seen her improve so much from a leadership standpoint," redshirt junior middle blocker Peyton Williams said. "I've seen her step up and speak into the team settings a lot more. People look to her more than they did. That's been so cool to come back and see that improvement just in that short time."
"Her leadership role has really grown," added senior setter Sarah Dixon. "Having a year of experience under her belt, she's really taken major leaps in just how to show the girls how to conduct themselves on and off the court. She has really good relationships with everyone and she's a person that everyone can come to talk to. She's finding her voice, so it's been really cool to see."
This growth, Mutiri said, did not come naturally. The team's tour of Brazil in the summer helped. But, like everything else, so has her personality. She's worked hard on it. She still is.
"I love to have fun, I love my team, and, in my mind, I don't think of myself as, 'Oh, yeah, I'm a huge leader for this team,' but I definitely have a big impact. I want to use that," she said. "I'm trying to work on taking that leadership role and being very responsible with it, because I know this team trusts me and I trust them, so I really want to work hard to help them and be supportive, be the best leader I can be. That's another area with room for growth."
Players Mentioned
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