Alexis Huntey is back home playing sports, and she couldn’t be happier.
Neither could her new volleyball coach and teammates.
Huntey, the volleyball and girls’ basketball all-stater who led Morley Stanwood to Class C state titles in both sports last year, has transferred to Ferris State University in Big Rapids, only eight miles from her former high school. After one season of Division I volleyball at George Washington University, Huntey will have three years of eligibility to play at Ferris, which has been a Division II power in the Great Lakes Conference.
Huntey’s older sister, Ashley, was a standout Ferris volleyball player for four seasons after ending her sports career at Morley Stanwood.
Alexis Huntey finished as the runner-up in Michigan’s Miss Volleyball voting for 2011. The team’s overall record with her in the lineup was 142-22-2. She was named to the Prep Volleyball.com All-American Third team after collecting 930 kills, 106 aces, and 748 digs as a senior. She posted 30 kills to lead her team to the 2011 state title. She was also the 2011-12 High School Sports Scene Female Athlete of the Year.
Huntey had originally committed to play volleyball at Central Michigan University and then decided to sign with George Washington. She sustained a broken foot in June playing volleyball prior to attending GW. She wound up filling in as a setter in a substitution role and ended the season with 300 assists. George Washington, in the nation’s capital, finished 10-18 overall.
Huntey said, “It was a good season. It was a tough one because we had a lot of injuries. I thought it was a good experience, but it was too far away from home for me. That’s the main reason I came back.”
Huntey admitted that she was originally attracted to GW “because it was different. It was exciting to try something new. I liked the team and it’s a good school. But being away from home for so long, it was too hard for me.”
Huntey figures that playing at the Division I level in the Atlantic 10 conference for a year will give her valuable experience for her three anticipated seasons at Ferris.
“It’s an entirely different world down there,” she said.
Huntey got her release from George Washington a few weeks after the season. Her thoughts about a new school focused mainly on Ferris.
“I didn’t really want to go through the recruiting process again,” she said. “I know Ferris and it’s familiar to me.”
When she was in high school, Ferris had discussions with Huntey. “I knew the program really well because my older sister played there,” she said. “I knew the girls, I knew the program and the coaches.”
Huntey has enrolled in Ferris for the winter term in elementary education, but she has already gotten involved in the volleyball program.
“We have spring season workouts every day, and I’ve been working out with them,” she said.
Tia Brandel-Wilhelm, Ferris’ coach, said she became aware of Huntey’s interest in transferring to Ferris, and after she was officially released from GW, the Bulldog staff started contacting her. The school had been interested in Huntey when she was still in high school but realized that Huntey was looking at Division I.
“We had talked with her a couple of times to see if it was something she was interested in, but she was looking at different schools,” Brandel-Wilhelm said. “Because she was a part of our program through her sister, there were opportunities for us to talk with her about the recruiting process, helping her with her recruiting process.”
Huntey went to George Washington on a full ride and will get athletic scholarship aid from Ferris, as well.
“I really like the tradition of the program,” she said. “Tia has been there for a long time. I know what I’m going in to. The biggest thing is the time commitment you have with college volleyball. It’s very time-consuming, and it’s a high level of volleyball.”
Plans are for Huntey to be a hitter at Ferris. “She’ll fit in great,” Brandel-Wilhelm said. “She knows the players pretty well and has gotten to know the team. As far as fitting into our team culture and standards, she’s going to be great. We have a lot of opportunities for our young players right now. She’ll add a lot on the court and she has already added a lot off the court.”
Ferris had six seniors graduate last season and had six freshmen on the roster. Five recruits are coming in. The team was 24-8 and lost in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regionals.
Comparing Alexis to her sister Ashley, who was an All-American at FSU, Brandel-Wilhelm indicated that the two are “different kind of players. They’re both competitors and very driven in what they do. Their styles of play are different.”
Alexis Huntey “can play front row and back row is a great strength,” Brandel-Wilhelm said. “We’re very excited. Lexie is a very quality person. Her character is outstanding. She’s a really good volleyball player. That makes it much more exciting. She can help us in so many ways.”