ROCKINGHAM – A dream that started to prove itself to be more and more of a reality over the last year finally became official for Richmond Senior High School standout volleyball star Altman Griffin in the school’s media center Wednesday afternoon.
Surrounded by family, coaches and friends in front of a green and gold backdrop, Griffin signed her Letter of Intent to play collegiate volleyball for the next four years at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
As noted in a previous exclusive Richmond Observer sports department article, Griffin made a verbal agreement with the program in early February to don the teal and gold of the Lady Seahawks. But swirling her signature with ink to paper just over two months later made the “recruited walk-on” position official.
“It’s a very relieving feeling,” Griffin said with a big smile when asked to describe the moment when she inked her future plans. “This has been a nerve-wracking experience. But (signing) the letter gave me a sense of accomplishment – it shows that my hard work has paid off. It’s really a great feeling knowing I’ll be playing volleyball in Wilmington.”
Griffin’s interest in playing for head coach Amy Bambenek and the Lady Seahawks grew drastically after she attended at UNCW summer volleyball camp last year. UNCW assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Meghan Sherman expressed interest in Griffin too, and the initial offer from UNCW came following the City of Oaks volleyball tournament on January 15, which Griffin was playing in as a part of the Triangle Volleyball Club 18 Blue team.
What started as a love for the game as a sixth-grader at Hamlet Middle School, Griffin’s journey to the collegiate level hasn’t come without countless hours of practice and dedication, and some memorable triumphs. The 6-0, 160-pound outside hitter became a staple on the Lady Raiders’ varsity team part way through her freshman season. Since then, she’s dominated the court and served as head coach Shellie Wimpey’s vocal leader and go-to player.
“I am so proud of all the hard work she has put in,” Wimpey said of her former standout star. “It has really paid off and she deserves it. Also, this is great for our program, and she is a great role model for those who want to play volleyball in college.”
As a junior and senior at Richmond, Griffin was an instrumental part of a momentous run that resulted in back-to-back conference championship teams, including a historic 25-0 run during the 2017 regular season and Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament. During both of those seasons, Griffin was also named to the all-conference team, and nabbed the conference “player of the year” honor twice.
The 25 wins during her swan song season at Richmond shattered the program’s previous record of 15, which was set the year before. And during the NCHSAA 4A playoffs late last October, the Lady Raiders secured a No. 2 seed in the opening round, the highest seed for the state playoffs in program history.
In the time since she last dressed in green and gold, Griffin has continued her development as a player with the Triangle squad. Based in Raleigh, the group of college-bound players travels up and down the East Coast, and most recently finished tied for third in the Northeast Qualifier in Philadelphia, Pa., three weekends ago. With that “surprising finish,” Griffin and her teammates will make a trip to Anaheim, Calif., later this month to compete in the USAV Junior Nationals tournament. And while she’s enjoying the success with Triangle, Griffin remains cognizant of her goals to get better for when she reports to Wilmington.
“No one expected us to finish in third, so that’s an accomplishment,” Griffin explained. “Since I started playing with Triangle this season, I’ve shown exponential progress in my individual skills and team play. One of the biggest adjustments from playing high school volleyball has been the level of play I’m facing.
“The speed of the game is so much quicker,” she continued. “For me individually, I’m gaining more experience against talented players I hadn’t seen before. Playing with other girls who are as good as me, or who are better than me, is getting me ready for playing in college.”
And Griffin should expect to see a higher-level of play when she hits the college ranks, as UNCW plays in a competitive Colonial Athletic Association. Bambenek, who will enter her 10th season at the helm of the Lady Seahawks’ program in 2018, helped turn UNCW into a perennial powerhouse in the CAA.
According to its website, UNCW had its best season under Bambenek’s tutelage in 2015, when it went 24-8 overall (the most wins in a single season since 1988), and made a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Seahawks will enter the 2018 season looking to rebound from a subpar season in 2017 (11-17), which was its first losing season since it posted the same record in 2012.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know the group of girls I’ll be playing with,” Griffin noted. “They’ll be my best friends for the next four years, and we’ll spend a lot of time together on and off the court. I’m thankful for the opportunity to continue to play volleyball because I’m not quite ready to give it up just yet.
“I guess I’m considered a ‘green player,’ meaning that I have a lot of potential to get better,” she added, explaining her expectations for her freshman season. “Right now, I don’t think I’m ready for a starting position. But if I continue to prepare myself, and work hard, a starting spot and a scholarship could happen.”
Griffin also emphasized the importance of her education, as she’ll enroll in UNCW’s exercise science program. She’s also thinking of minoring in Spanish, and expressed her excitement that her “best friend” and former volleyball teammate Brianna Baysek will be joining her on campus and in the same major.
“I just want to say ‘thank you’ to my parents (Mike and Tammie Griffin),” she concluded. “Both of them have always pushed me to do my best in everything that I do.”
For Griffin, the exciting adventures of UNCW volleyball, new lasting friendships and attending college at the beach loom in the near future. She’ll also participate in some more summer camps in the coming months before officially reporting to school on August 7.
And life can’t get much better than that.
