By Greg Bates
SPORTS EDITOR
Name: Greta Wise
Parents: Jay and Shari Wise
Activity: Volleyball
Nicknames: Gretz, Gretch
Greta used to play basketball as a youngster and she did dance as well. Now athletically, she concentrates on volleyball, which she has played competitively for the last eight years. An outside hitter, she played club volleyball for the last four years for FC Elite out of Appleton.
Playing volleyball for FC Elite, you play with and against good competition. How does that up your game?
“I think just practicing in the gym with that better competition, those better players and just some more higher intensity that really has made me quite a bit of a better player. Just the passion for the game that they seem to have is a little bit more than school volleyball.”
How is your high school volleyball season going?
“High school we’ve had a season thus far. I’ll be honest, I was not expecting to do as well as we have been. We had a pretty young team last year, but it’s been going very well this year.”
You play outside hitter. What’s it like to read a defense and hopefully put down a point?
“That’s definitely something that’s taken me a while to finesse is learning how to read the defense. When I’m going up for a kill, it depends on the ball that the setter gives me and where that is and another thing I look at is the hands of the blockers that I’m hitting against, too. That tells me which part of the court would be open, where to hit, if I can tool the blockers or hit it off their hands. That’s a big thing, too, that I’ve learned. And I think learning and how to like manipulate that aspect of the game too is helped me with a lot of my success this year, and just being able to read that has really improved my game a lot.”
What’s it like to put down a big kill?
“Quite a bit of adrenaline goes through when I get a big kill. I think that’s one of the things I love about this sport so much is just the kind of explosiveness and the celebration — honestly, the jovial feeling you get when you get a kill like that, just the satisfaction of that. It’s quite amazing. It gives you that little burst of energy every time it happens. I never get sick of it.”
You won’t be playing club volleyball this season. And there’s a good reason for that.
“I’ll be graduating early, so I’ll be heading to Hillsdale College in Michigan, so I won’t be playing club this year. I’ll be playing volleyball for Hillsdale College in the springtime.”
You got a full-ride scholarship to the Division II college. That’s a good feeling for you and your parents.
“For sure. I’m very excited.”
Were you looking at colleges where you could get a good education but also play volleyball?
“Absolutely, yeah. And I would factor in my family’s religious background and faith in that, too. We were looking at Hillsdale because they’ve got great academics for what we were looking for. Then also their whole setup agrees with my family’s values and beliefs. Then on top of that, they were a nationally-ranked Division II volleyball program, so that was also a little cherry on top.”
Do you have an idea what you want to major in?
“I’m really looking forward to studying exercise science and then hopefully moving onto physical therapy in that area.”
Did you look at other schools or was Hillsdale always the school for you?
“Hillsdale was definitely my first choice. I had looked at a couple of other schools, not greatly in-depth. But I did look at some other D-Is like Lipscomb University in Tennessee and Liberty University in Virginia and ORU (Oral Roberts University) out in Oklahoma was another one I had looked at.”
Three months you’re going to be a freshman in college. Has that sunk in yet?
“I’ll be honest, I’m a little nervous for the class schedule. But my older sister, Jaclyn, and she’s on the volleyball team there. She’ll help me out, I’m sure. I’m excited to see her and play with her, too. But she’ll help me through it.”
Do you like to travel?
“I do. Family vacation is one of my favorite things for sure.”
What’s the coolest place you’ve visited?
“I think regularly my family goes up to Door County and I never get sick of it no matter how many times we go. Then on a tourist level, I’d say I saw the Grand Canyon. That was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.”
What do you love so much about Door County?
“I just love those good memories of growing up and activities that I’ve done up there. I love the — I guess this sounds silly — but the aesthetic up there. Just the water and the beachfront and then the biking and the outdoor activities we can do up there. A lot of good memories from my childhood up there.”
Is there a quote that’s stuck with you through the years?
“One of my coaches at FC Elite always used to tell us to, ‘Trust the process.’ For me that was really important, because sometimes it gets a little frustrating when you’re doing what could be just the same reps over and over again or it feels like you’re kind of stuck in a rut in practice or something like that. Just remembering that progress doesn’t come immediately, you just have to be passionate with yourself and trust the process and just trust that with time it’s going to pay off.”
If you could be someone for a day, who would it be?
“I would be Blake Lively so that I could be married to Ryan Reynolds.”
What’s one thing your teammates and coaches may not know about you?
“My sisters and I get into some mischief from time to time. We like to go for scenic drives around the country. Some people think that’s an interesting thing, but, yeah, I spend a lot of time just driving around, looking at different scenery, visiting different places all in Wisconsin just for fun.”
One word that describes you?
“Consistent would be a good word.”
What do you like most about school?
“I like that every day it’s a little something new, a little something different. Whether it would be a learned something new in a class that I wouldn’t have thought of or just the interactions that I have with my friends. There’s always something surprising that comes with each day.”