FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – "I wasn't tall enough to go there, I wasn't good enough to go there." It seems unthinkable now, but that was the message senior Janae Vander Ploeg got from the University of Colorado in Boulder during the recruiting process.
Vander Ploeg – out of Colorado Springs, Colo. – was deemed not good enough to play for her home state's Pac-12 institution. Then in just her fifth career collegiate match, she showed everyone in Boulder exactly what they missed out on. In a self-described "pretty good game," Vander Ploeg hammered down 21 kills, hit .302 and recorded 12 digs against the Buffaloes on their home court. Not to mention, NAU knocked off Colorado in four sets.
The opening chapter of her Lumberjack storybook career was written that weekend. Like an attack that misses the court, Colorado's error notched a point on NAU's scoreboard with one missed judgement. As it would turn out four years later, it was a judgement that changed the course for Vander Ploeg and the entire Northern Arizona volleyball program.
Not that any of Vander Ploeg's successes should have caught anyone by surprise. Her story predates to Cheyanne Mountain High School, where it had never won a girls' volleyball state championship. Then Vander Ploeg led her team to not one, not two, not three; but four consecutive state titles.
"I was not surprised by the success she had at Northern Arizona because of the type of player she is," said David Barkley, her high school coach of four years. "We've been fortunate to have a lot of wonderful young ladies come through our program and she's been one of our best, clearly. She's a role model for my younger kids who know her and I'm so happy for her success."
By the time her prep career was finished, she had a state 4A Player of the Year by the Denver Post in her name. While she was a two-time state championship MVP and PrepVolleyball.com High School All-American, her successes were not limited to the volleyball court. Also an all-state basketball player and all-conference soccer player, she was the recipient of the Fred Steinmark High School Athlete of the Year Award given to Colorado's top multi-sport student-athlete as a senior.
Yet, it was the volleyball route that the player, who this fall simply became known as JVP, chose for herself. After considering Denver University, Stephen F. Austin and a few schools on the east coast, Vander Ploeg zeroed in Northern Arizona.
"I love Colorado so much, but I wanted to go out of state for school and the east coast was too far for me," Vander Ploeg said. "I'm really close with my family, and I wanted to be close enough where even if it's a 10-hour drive (from Flagstaff), it's doable. Flagstaff and Northern Arizona was so much like (Colorado), that when I came on my visit it already felt like home."
However, it took a little bit of luck and a keen eye by former head coach Craig Choate to even notice the outside hitter despite her prep accomplishments. Vander Ploeg was not Choate's initial target when attending club qualifier in Colorado, but once he caught sight of Vander Ploeg, his focus quickly changed.
Vander Ploeg flourished in her initial season at NAU under the direction of Choate – who would return to the Big Sky Conference during Vander Ploeg's recently completed senior year as the head coach of Southern Utah. She was named all-conference honorable mention after ranking seventh in the Big Sky with 3.16 kills per set. She led all conference freshmen in kills, and would have been an easy selection for the Big Sky's Outstanding Freshman award if it was not for her teammate Payton Bock's exceptional debut season herself.
"When I was a freshman, I was so hungry to learn everything I could from my coaches and my teammates," Vander Ploeg said when reflecting on her first season. "I was harder on myself than anyone else was. I owe Coach Choate a lot because he brought me to a school I loved and he got my four amazing years here started. I loved Coach Choate when he was here and I'm happy I got to see him my senior year. Every time I see him, I always tell him how thankful I am for everything he did for me."
It took Vander Ploeg just eight matches to reach her 100th kill. Her talents were evident to all Lumberjack fans from the first time she made her debut in the Rolle Activity Center on Sept. 20, 2012 versus Sacramento State. She remembers being so nervous for her first home match that she did not eat that day. She remembers winning the match in four sets that helped NAU picked up its first conference victory of the season.
Her freshman season ended in the Big Sky semifinals, coincidentally against Idaho State, who would be a thorn in Vander Ploeg and the Lumberjacks' side over her career. Yet, the Lumberjacks finished an impressive 24-7 overall record and a 15-5 Big Sky mark. Furthermore, Vander Ploeg set a precedent for things to come as she helped guide NAU to its first conference tournament appearance in five years.
Coming off the highs of her initial collegiate campaign, Vander Ploeg faced adversity during the offseason with Choate's sudden departure. It was not until a month before training camp, when head coach Ken Murphy was hired to build upon NAU's massive leap in 2012. Time was not of the essence to Murphy, but when looking over the roster he inherited, he knew Vander Ploeg presented something special. Over the next three years, he would learn just how special of a player she would become, while also pushing his limits as a coach to boundaries he never did before.
"She had a unique skill set when I got here and it challenged me to expand her game in a little different way than some other players I've coached," Murphy recalled. "It challenged me to find ways to help her be better. It's easy when you have someone in your program who is so successful, to let them be. But finding new ways to help push her every day like she wanted us to, that helped me expand the things I know about the game as well."
The coach who recruited her to NAU was gone, but what Choate started for Vander Ploeg, Murphy finished. Like she pushed him to the limits as a coach, Murphy brought out the best in Vander Ploeg as a player.
"When Ken first came in, it was different but it was a good different," Vander Ploeg said. "He got everything out of our team and he made me the player I am today. He always knew that I could do better. That's what you want in a coach, to never give up on you, and he never gave up on me. He was the one who saw my potential and pushed me to be my best."
In one season under Murphy's guidance, Vander Ploeg quickly made the jump from honorable mention selection to the All-Big Sky First Team. She earned a spot on the Big Sky All-Tournament team even in defeat, when she posted 27 kills, 14 kills and five blocks in an upset loss to Montana in the 2013 conference quarterfinals. However, Vander Ploeg's evolution as an all-around force on the court was just starting.
Vander Ploeg repeated as a first team selection as a junior. Her digs per set jumped from 2.53 to 3.52, while her double-double count nearly, well doubled, from eight to 15. On Nov. 6, 2014, she became the 12th player in program history to reach 1,000 kills in a victory over Eastern Washington at home, which also clinched NAU's third consecutive trip to the Big Sky Tournament. By the end of the season though, Vander Ploeg's hitting percentage dropped to .217 and her kill average fell to 3.18 per set, both of which represented the lowest of her career. Coupled with a frustrating end to the season in the conference semifinals once again to Idaho State – NAU's third loss to the Bengals in 2014 – and Vander Ploeg was fired up for her senior season.
Her drive and determination – the same "prove the doubters wrong" attitude she shared when she was rejected by the University of Colorado – meant that anyone and any team standing in her way did not stand a chance.
What resulted this past fall was arguably the greatest season ever by a Lumberjack in a historic season never seen before by an NAU volleyball team. In 2015 alone, Vander Ploeg became the first player in school history to be named the Big Sky regular season and tournament MVP in the same season. She was then voted the school's first ever AVCA First Team All-Region selection and AVCA All-American. Vander Ploeg also joined rarified company in the Big Sky, as she was the first All-Region First Team honoree since 1998 and just the second conference All-American ever.
The individual accomplishments did not end there. Along the way, Vander Ploeg tallied her 1,000th career dig versus UC Riverside on Sept. 19 to become just the fifth player in school history to join the 1,000 kills/1,000 digs club. She became the all-time NAU kills leader at Idaho State on Oct. 29, then became the first player in league history to be awarded three straight Big Sky Player of the Week honors on Nov. 2. The list goes on and on, and it extends past the realm of possibilities Vander Ploeg imagined for herself.
"You always see individual accolades, but volleyball is such a team sport that there's no way that you could accomplish anything without your team," Vander Ploeg said. "This year, I couldn't have done anything without my team. When I came in as a freshman, I never could have imagined any of the success I had. I pushed myself to be my best and it all worked in the end."
This past season, she set new single season records for kills with 563, a total which ranked her ninth in the country. Her career-best 4.65 kills per set also was ninth-best in the country and was good for the second highest season kill average in program history. Vander Ploeg hit a career-high .282 – almost seven percentage points better than her low point the previous season – and posted a career-best 18 double-doubles with the last coming in her 121st and final match as a Lumberjack. In NAU's NCAA First Round match versus San Diego, she totaled 10 kills and 15 digs to cap her career on the nation's highest platform in the Big Dance.
Vander Ploeg's command of the court propelled the Lumberjacks squarely onto the regional and national stage as a team. NAU posted a 28-5 record, surpassing the 2012 team during Vander Ploeg's freshman season, for the best winning percentage (.848) in school history. The 28 wins were a school record, while the 'Jacks captured the Big Sky regular season and tournament championships in the same season for the first time ever. NAU wound up in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history and was rated No. 33 in the final NCAA RPI rankings, ahead of both Arizona State and Arizona for its highest final ranking ever.
Together, the Vander Ploeg-NAU pairing proved to not only push the Lumberjacks to the pinnacle of the Big Sky Conference, but thrust them into the regional and national spotlight.
"It raises the awareness of what we're doing here and the players who have worked so hard to help elevate this," Murphy said. "We're getting returns on their efforts, and I hear how NAU is really relevant on the national scene when I'm recruiting and at different events. Some of that has to do with our team success, and some of that has to do with the really elite players who are contributing and Janae was a big piece of that."
There is no doubt about her abilities now. Not when she finished her career as the NAU's all-time leader in kills, kill average, attacks and sets played. Not when she is the only Lumberjack to rank in the top five in kills, digs, service aces and double-doubles. Not when she is the first three-time All-Big Sky First Team honoree and the second four-time all-conference selection in school history.
Today, tomorrow, a year from now or when she is eligible for the NAU Hall of Fame in five years; she will forever be in the debate for the greatest NAU Volleyball player to ever wear the Blue & Gold. Her numbers dictate that discussion, but her passion and love for the game is the trump card.
"I will always treasure these memories," Vander Ploeg said. "This season, every single part of it, I will never ever forget it. I will always be thankful for what NAU Volleyball gave me. I came in loving the sport of volleyball and I go out loving it even more. That's hard to do."
For a player who was once told she was not good enough, JVP exits NAU with a mic drop and a full legacy in hand.
