By all accounts, former Ankeny volleyball standout Jesa Wallace had a productive freshman season at William Jewell College.
She wasn’t sure, though, if the Cardinals would even field a team next year.
“Entering the transfer portal definitely wasn’t on my radar, but there was a lot of things going on that were out of my control at Jewell,” said Wallace, a 6-foot setter. “Our head coach resigned her position before the season even started, and our interim coach–who was previously our assistant coach–resigned her position at the end of the season as well. The team only had 14 players to begin with and we were losing three seniors and many of the other girls were entering the transfer portal, too.
“Without a head coach and so many girls leaving, I was really worried that Jewell wouldn’t have a volleyball program at all. Entering the transfer portal was something I felt was necessary for my future,” she added.
Wallace has decided to transfer to Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kan. The Gorillas hosted William Jewell this season.
“When looking for a new school, I really wanted one that had a solid program that I could grow with,” Wallace said. “I looked at quite a few schools that contacted me through the portal, but when I visited the campus and practiced with the girls and met coach (Jen) Gomez and she told me about the program, the vision she had for the program and what role I would play in that, I was sold!
“My team at Jewell played at Pitt on Halloween (and lost in five sets), but I was able to see their facilities and some of how their team was ran prior to my visit there, so that helped with my decision too!” she added.
Wallace played in all 29 matches with 21 starts this season, helping the Cardinals to a 12-17 record. She led the team with 666 assists while also contributing 50 kills, eight aces, 83 digs and 46 blocks.
“Entering the transfer portal and leaving Jewell was an extremely hard decision for me!” Wallace said. “I really liked the girls on my team and the school itself, but I knew if I wanted to continue to play volleyball, competitively, or at all I knew I was going to have to go somewhere else.”
