Grace College sophomore Sierra Smith, a product of Fairfield High School, soars at the net (Photos provided by the Grace College Sports Information Department)

WINONA LAKE – It’s a growing and learning year for the Grace College volleyball team under first-year coach Katie Van Hofwegen.

A pair of former local stars are helping to make that process much smoother for their new mentor.

Sophomore Sierra Smith (Fairfield) and freshman Caylie Teel (Tippecanoe Valley) have both been big time contributors early on this fall as the program hopes to continue its recent run of outstanding success on the court.

Van Hofwegen, who came to Grace after serving as the top assistant coach at an NCAA Division II program at the University of Virginia-Wise, has been impressed with both Smith and Teel after just three months on the job.

“Sierra is a very hard worker who wants to win,” said Van Hofwegen, who starred collegiately as a defensive player at Shorter University in Georgia. “She’s passionate with a lot of energy. When we need a a spark, we got to her.

“She sees the court well and makes smart decisions. She’s a huge block for us and really takes a lot of pressure off our back row as the first step in our defense.”

Smith, a 6-2 opposite, leads the Lancers in kills (103) and points (115.5) and is third in blocks (12.5).

Teel, who did it all during her prep career at Valley, is becoming more of a defensive specialist now on the collegiate level.

“Caylie has a great skill set, a lot of knowledge and can jump through the roof,” remarked Van Hofwegen of her 5-8 freshman. “She is transitioning to more of a DS for us, but started outside in our first two tournaments.

“When we need a big hit, we put Caylie in. I’m very grateful that she came here to play for Grace.”

The Lancers had quite the run under former coach Andria Harshman, who left in April to become coach at Colorado Christian University.  Grace was 30-12 last year and reached the semifinals of the NCCAA Championships. The Lancers started strong this campaign at 4-0, but the young team has struggled of late and sits at 8-8 overall and 0-4 in Crossroads League play after conference losses to Bethel (3-2) and Goshen (3-1) this past weekend.

“We’re moving forward and not looking back,” said Smith in a recent phone interview about the coaching change this summer. “I think that we were all pretty nervous at first with a new coach, but the transition has been very easy. Coach came in and made her expectations for us clear up front and we are very comfortable with her.

“My goal this year was to work hard, stay humble and praise God. That reminder is on my phone. I just want to go out and work my hardest and help this team win. It’s not about me. I’m my hardest critic, so I look more at my errors not my other stats. I just want to improve.”

Smith played for quite the program at Fairfield. The Falcons became a state power under former coach Carla Herschberger, who retired from coaching after the 2013 season. Fairfield was 29-8 during Smith’s senior season and set a program record for wins by going 35-2 her junior year.

“She was amazing and inspired a love of volleyball for me,” said Smith of her former high school coach. “She pushed me to reach my potential and the work ethic I learned from her carried over.”

Teel, who has a huge swing despite her 5-8 stature, has played in 13 matches with three starting assignments. She is third on the team with 100 digs and also has 44 kills.

“It’s been really good,” said Teel during a recent phone interview of playing for Van Hofwegen. “I never played for coach Harshman even though she recruited me so I think that the transition has been a lot easier fro me than some of my teammates. It’s a good thing that I will get to play for her for four years.

“I’m still getting college experience and there is a lot that I need to learn and improve on. The play is definitely better than in high school. There are no weak links on college teams.”

“I was recruited as a defensive specialist because of my height, so I’m okay with not getting as many swings as a I used to in high school. It’s fun to play defense.”

Teel is very happy to be at Grace although that was not the original plan for the two-sport standout who helped Valley earn a Class 3-A state runner-up finish in basketball last March.

“At first, I did not want to come to Grace,” said Teel. “But God brought me here. The girls have been amazing and coach has connected with us. Staying close to home was the best thing for me.”

The Lancers are a young team with just three seniors.

“Andria left me in a good position and my goal is for us to be as successful as possible,” said Van Hofwegen. “This is a building and growing year for us. This is a young team and they are learning their roles.”

Teel sees a bright future ahead for her team.

“We’re putting a lot of pieces together right now, but in the future I think that we should be near unstoppable,” Teel concluded.

Freshman Caylie Teel, a Tippecanoe Valley High School, graduate, is having a strong freshman season for the Grace College volleyball team.