Aviendah Plett started out playing volleyball in Landmark and after years of dedication, hard work and love of the game, she was part of the U of M Bisons that claimed the National Championship this season.
"Honestly, the feeling is so surreal, I don't think it's fully sunk in yet," Plett says with a big smile, still energized when thinking about what her team accomplished. "It's been almost two weeks, but it is just really, really cool. I'm so grateful for the opportunity, for my coaches and for my teammates, it's just awesome."
As a third year, Plett was part of the team that went into the tournament last season, made some noise but ultimately fell short. She believes that motivated her and her team to get to the top of the mountain this year. "Last year, last year was really good. Obviously, we wanted to win gold and we didn't, but that's okay because we won this year. What stuck with me from last year was our group's perseverance. Our coach pushes that a lot. This year, when we had some tough games, we kept preparing, we kept practicing, working out, doing all the things we needed to do to get to where we wanted to go. Perseverance, that's the biggest thing."
Plett also believes that the reason they were so difficult to beat in games was because of how difficult it was to win at practice. "So, so much about our identity comes from working hard and the toughest matches we had were against each other," she says very proudly. We have a deep roster and our scrimmages in practice are always high intensity. That's just invaluable to have that and it was a really big part of why we won."
Growing up playing volleyball in Landmark, Plett says it was the later years of school when she decided to take a shot and reach out to the Bisons. "I emailed Ken (Bentley) and sent in like a highlight tape. We talked, we had a meeting with my parents and I knew it was the place I wanted to be. I wanted to stay close to home and the program was so great, I couldn't be happier for how things worked out."
Landmark is a small town so when Plett is home, she gets recognized but she says it's more of a thrill for her than it is for the kids that come up to say hi. "Oh, I just love it," she says beaming. "It's so great that kids are looking up to you and want to do what you do. Landmark is a close town so when I'm out or at the store, when people come up, I have to admit, it's more of a thrill for me than it is for them. It means a lot. It's amazing to have that support from so many."
Right from the start, Plett felt like this team had the magic and they were destined for greatness. "I think I always just had that feeling. Ever since my first year, I was all in. I believed in all these amazingly strong women surrounding me. There's never been a second where I didn't feel like we could win."
A special moment after the final point went on the board, the whole group embraced on the court, just them as a family, that's something Plett will forever cherish. "It was so cool. I was just like, an emotional moment in a great way. Just holding your teammates, seeing their faces and hearing the crowd being so loud in the background. It was like a movie. I'll never forget that."
It's not a cliche, this Bisons team really is and will always be family. "We're all super close and I couldn't ask for better girls to be on a team with," Plett says smiling. "We're super tight-knit. We hang out after practice, outside of volleyball. We're best friends. We care about each other so much, it makes the highs sweeter and it makes the lows easier to deal with."
Always the competitor, it doesn't take much to get Plett fired back up as the edge in her voice is noticeable when talking about going into next year with the same mindset of being a champion. "That's always the goal," she says matter-of-factly. "We always want to go as far as we an and win. We're all going to put in the work to get there."
Having a few weeks off without volleyball is something Plett has been enjoying but she knows the hard work will start back up again and this year is even more important. "We have so many seniors leaving, girls that I've been with for years and I've been very lucky to learn from them and they've been great leaders. Our third and fourth years are going to be taking that over now and it's going to be on us to lead the team. We're going to be back in the gym working just as hard because that's what it takes to be champions."
While she's looking forward to the hard work, she's maybe not looking forward to the dreaded "psycho-circuit" again. "Oh yeah, no, that lives up to the name, that's for sure," she says laughing. "I don't miss that right now, not at all, not even a little bit. But, if that's what it takes to win, I'll do it all day, every day."