Jason Hills 
For MacEwan Athletics 
 
EDMONTON – She may be small in stature, but Payton Shimoda has never let her lack of height deter her on the volleyball court. In fact – it's what drives her. 

It's rare for a rookie setter to become a full-time starter, but Shimoda was given that responsibility with the MacEwan Griffins two years ago, and she hasn't looked back. 

The Griffins have endured a lot of tough lessons over the last two seasons. A young core group of players have gone through many battles that they fell short on, compiling a record of just 5-37, but Shimoda's game on the court has developed immensely. 

"It was intimidating and scary in the beginning, but my coaches have given me free reign, and my teammates have given me a lot of grace. I learned a lot through trial and error," said Shimoda. 

"Thankfully, I've been part of a young core group, and we were all figuring things out. I'm grateful I was able to be put in situations to learn on the court, and I think my learning curve was expedited in a lot of ways." 

After two years of many lessons learned, the Griffins are set to take a big step forward this year in the Canada West Conference. They started the season off with two big victories over the Calgary Dinos last weekend and will battle the Saskatchewan Huskies at home this weekend in the David Atkinson Gym (6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday, both Canada West TV).

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Like many of her veteran teammates, Shimoda's game has developed immensely over the last two years. After getting thrown into the fire as a rookie, she's continued to raise her game and is now one of the best setters in the Canada West Conference. 

Shimoda is currently tied for the conference lead, averaging 10 assists per set and leads Canada West with 70 assists. 

"Just knowledge-wise, I've learned to make better and more timely decisions. My first year, I relied on just watching as much video as I could to learn, but now I know what to look for, and I can come up with a game plan," said Shimoda. 

"Physically, I've developed quite a bit and gotten stronger, and that's made a big difference when it comes to blocking." 

Payton Shimoda leads the Griffins into their home opener against Saskatchewan on Friday (Robert Antoniuk photo).

Shimoda has a quiet personality and demeanor, but she certainly gets fired up on the court. As the setter, you need to be in constant communication with your teammates, and she's certainly become a vocal leader for her teammates. 

"I've come to learn that about myself is how competitive I am. It's not something new for me, but it's come alive for me, being on this team," said Shimoda. 

"We're all so close (as a team), and we can have those honest conversations with each other. I feel like I can do that with my teammates, and I expect them to give it back to me." 
Shimoda admits that when she was younger, there were times where she was overlooked because of her height. 

Her parents, who never played volleyball at a high level, but had a strong passion for it, suggested she become a setter. At first, she didn't like the idea of that, but they worked with her, and she grew to love that position. 

"When they told me I should become a setter, I hated it, because I wasn't very good, but I'm glad I took their advice," said Shimoda. 

"I can remember them taking me to open gyms and my mom would toss me balls, and my little brothers would shag balls on the other side of the net. 

"I really had to learn the technical side of the game. Learn to become a better blocker and get good touches on the ball and learn to compete with the bigger players. I always had to have that mindset." 

When Griffins new head coach Chris Wandler got the job in April and then started to come to some open gym sessions with many of the Griffins to evaluate their off-season training regimen, he immediately saw how dialed in, and prepared Shimoda was to help the team take that next step forward. 

"She has such a willingness to expand her setting prowess," said Wandler. 

"She's been nothing but a sponge. She'd ask how we can execute this play; how can we score more points at a more efficient rate. She wanted to take on that challenge to help the team reach a new level of expectations." 

For Shimoda and many of her teammates, prior to playing at the U SPORTS level, they all played at a high level on elite teams, and simply didn't lose all that often. But joining MacEwan, when they were making the jump from the collegiate level to U Sports, they knew there'd be some growing pains as they established their program in what is considered the toughest conference in the country. 

"Losing as much as we did was hard, but we're so driven as a group," said Shimoda. 

"Over the last couple years, we've really learned a sense of gratitude after wins so much more. 

"We have higher expectations this year, and we expect to win more games, and we've promised each other that we will continue to have that same sense of gratitude."