DETROIT – Before every Wayne State volleyball practice, players write their individual goals for that day on a whiteboard.
Stacking days and goals, the Warriors have managed to accomplish something no team in program history has done before.
WSU (24-5 overall) defeated Ferris State in four sets on Sunday to clinch the first conference title in program history, sending the Warriors to the Division II NCAA Tournament.
“I think they really bought in to what we were selling,” head coach Tim Koth said. “Let’s just do one day at a time and let’s focus on getting one percent better at a time.”
The Warriors’ Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) crown builds on their first regular season title in 44 seasons.
“We heard Wayne State hasn’t made it this far, but then when we actually did it it’s like, ‘wow,’” freshman middle blocker Kat Stout said. “It’s weird that we made history.”
An achievement a long time coming for the program was also visualized long ago by this group. Prior to the season, players made shirts donned with the numbers 12-25, signifying beloved coach Tim Koth’s twelfth season and the journey they find themselves on now.
“That was our team theme for the year,” senior middle blocker Kayla Giroux recalled. “It means December 2025, making it that far to the NCAA Tournament. We had our minds set on that from the beginning of the season in August.”
It’s no fluke; all focus, with locals fueling the competitive fire.
Giroux in an All-American, ascending from Flat Rock to rank among the best players in program history. Stout is a Macomb Dakota alum, the first Wayne State player to earn GLIAC Freshman of the Year honors since Giroux.
11 players hail from Michigan, including Katie Smith (Jr., Macomb), Paige Giehtbrock (Jr., Clarkston), and Alina Ike (Fr., Grand Blanc) near the Metro Detroit footprint.
“We come in this gym every day and we go all in,” Giroux said. “110 percent is one of the things that we talk about. 200 percent accountability to ourselves and our teammates. No one sees the blood, sweat, and tears behind these closed doors every single day. It means a lot to not only us, but the alumni as well.”
Tournament-bound for the fourth time, the Warriors take on Findlay from northwest Ohio on Thursday, December 4 at 8 p.m. in St. Louis.
The program is 0-3 all-time with NCAA berths in 2021, 1994, and 1987, but they’ve never felt support like this.
“It’s humbling, number one, the amount of people who have reached out from the various different years at Wayne State,” Koth said. “I think [the team] is getting the vibe of how this is a big deal to not just us, but to other people who work here and the sense of pride in those messages about being a Warrior.”
Win or lose in the Midwest Regional, what’s happening in the gym gives the Warriors confidence to keep fighting the good fight in all forms.
“I’ve been coaching for 40 years,” Koth continued. “I can pinpoint teams that I’m like, ‘these teams were good,’ but this team is special for their success on the court as human beings and what they’re going to do in life. I hope that continues and the fact that a lot of them will continue to be here in the area around Wayne State is really cool.”
NCAA Midwest Regional
Quarterfinal Schedule (Thursday, December 4 - All Times Eastern)
5:30 p.m.
1 - Missouri-St. Louis (26-4)
8 - UIndy (20-11)
8 p.m.
4 - Wayne State (24-5)
5 - Findlay (23-5)
2:30 p.m.
2 - Ohio Dominican (26-5)
7 - Rockhurst (21-10)
12 p.m.
3 - Ferris State (24-7)
6 - Quincy (24-6)