In a season filled with broken records and remarkable runs, it can be easy to forget about the members of Idaho volleyball’s 2018 team that were not constantly flying high at the net.
While there are dozens of thunderous kills to remember, it would be an absolute shame to gloss over senior libero Alycia Wodke. The 2018 Big Sky Libero of the Year was a critical guiding presence for the Vandals this year, far beyond even her own impressive stat sheets.
“It’s been an incredible experience to play around such a remarkable group of women, and it’s changed my life and career for the better to have been a part of it,” said Wodke.
As long as Wodke can remember, volleyball has been a central part of her life.
“With my dad being a coach, I was around volleyball from the beginning. It was something that I was really able to put myself into and it allowed me to meet some of the best people of my life,” Wodke said. “But it all started with my dad as he was very involved as a parent and coach, and he was able to steer me on a path to fall in love with it as he did.”
Once she began exploring her options at the next level, Wodke ended up at the College of Southern Idaho to start her career. In her time with the Eagles, she earned NJCAA All-American honors, and she finished fifth all-time in kills and digs in the program. Again looking for the next step, Wodke began turning her focus north.
“The coaches here had pursuing me just about my entire career and they really believed in the player I could be, and I loved the people and the facilities,” Wodke said. “It really was all just a cherry on top that they wanted me from the beginning.”
Senior libero Alycia Wodke serves the ball in Memorial Gym against Portland State.
When she first took the floor for the team in 2017, the team was coming off its worst season in more than a decade with its first losing record in conference play since 2001. Many reasons play into the team’s turnaround, and Wodke has to be included in such a list.
In her first year playing for the Vandals, Wodke anchored the team as libero and was voted Big Sky Newcomer of the Year after finishing fourth in the conference in digs per game and seventh in Idaho history with 472 digs on the season.
Even with the remarkable performance in her first season, there was still plenty of work to be done in her senior season. Pundits and players alike agreed the Vandals would be a force to be reckoned with in the 2018 season, in large part due to the improvements made by an already-impressive senior class.
“I really grew in confidence coming into this last season, especially with my coaches and all of the younger kids pushing me to be better, especially at libero,” Wodke said. “My junior year was my first year playing the position, and our hitters and defensive specialists challenging me with good hits and sets pushed me into a much better version of myself.”
Wodke and the rest of the team saw their years of hard work pay off in one of the most successful stretches in Vandal sports. From Oct. 4 to Nov. 10, the team won 12 consecutive matches and cemented themselves atop the Big Sky. During that stretch, Wodke averaged 19.6 digs and hit 27+ digs four different times.
“It felt like every time we got another win, it wasn’t about pressure or being scared to lose the streak. The streak fed our drive to keep going and it was fantastic,” Wodke said. “But to be honest, I would bet that none of the girls felt anything or pressure in the gym because we were just so focused on winning the next game.”
Wodke finished her career at Idaho as one of the best defenders to ever play for the program. She was named to the All-Big Sky Second Team after a senior season that included a program-record 634 digs and 5.15 digs per set, second-best ever for the program.
Even with Idaho’s season coming to an end in the Big Sky Tournament, Wodke won’t stop playing volleyball anytime soon.
“Right now I’m working on getting into my fifth year with beach volleyball, or to even go professional there or indoor. I really like beach and am excited for this fifth year but I’m open to whatever the future holds,” Wodke said.
With her legacy cemented in Moscow as part of a historic team with plenty of accolades of her own, Alycia Wodke will long be remembered as an integral piece of Idaho volleyball. Her future may hold even more exciting developments to come.
Jonah Baker can be reached at arg-sports@uidaho.edu or on Twitter @jonahpbaker