Cailey Grace Grinstead took an unconventional route to eventually sign to play volleyball at a four-year university. She attended high school at Muldrow, which does not field a volleyball program. Then, Grinstead played volleyball at two junior college programs in different states.
But this fall, Grinstead will be suiting up for the volleyball program at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla., making it even better for her because she’ll get to play closer to home.
“The last two years, I have been four hours away from home and very few of my family and friends have been able to watch me play, so I am super excited about being close enough to home for everyone to come and watch,” Grinstead said. “My decision going into NSU was talking to Coach Maria Jacobus.
“She really instilled the confidence that she has for our program this upcoming season. I really loved her values as a coach and with it being so close to home was a big win for me.”
Grinstead plays as a libero and a defensive specialist.
“A libero is the one player on the court in a different jersey and my role is defense and serve receive,” she said. “I’m a scrappy player who dives all over and I have to be very vocal and communicate with my teammates. … Being a good teammate is something that I have always tried to be, because I consider every team I’m on as my family.”
In keeping up the theme of her unusual path to play volleyball, Grinstead picked up the sport at the age of six in Hawaii, one of several places she lived in with her father serving in the military. After moving to Muldrow, Grinstead had to deal with the fact there was not a high school volleyball program there. So she found other ways to keep playing the sport.
“With Muldrow not having a program, I played for a club called FSJ (Fort Smith Juniors),” she said. “I was on the National Elite team my 18’s year, and we played at some of the best tournaments across the country where I was able to be showcased. To make up for the fact that I didn’t have a school season, I would take lessons all summer and throughout the week as well.”
Grinstead was able to stay active in athletics throughout high school. She played a multitude of sports at Muldrow, such as basketball, softball, track, cross country and golf and was also on the cheer squad. However, her love of volleyball made her want to continue playing it when it was time to pick a college.
“(Volleyball) has always came very naturally to me and I’ve never doubted myself on the court,” she said. “I would consider volleyball as my safe place, so having the opportunity to play all four years of college has been amazing.”
She started her collegiate career at Missouri State-West Plains, helping that squad to a fifth-place finish at the Division I JUCO national tournament. But following her freshman season, her coaches left to go to another school, and Grinstead decided to follow suit, eventually landing at Butler Community College in Kansas. And now, Grinstead returns to Oklahoma, and is looking forward to playing at her new school, having committed to Northeastern State in early April.
Grinstead, who has a 3.7 grade-point average, plans to be in the nursing program at NSU and is on track to graduate in December 2027.
“The NSU coach told me that when I get there, they want me to come in ready to compete and grow right away,” Grinstead said. “They emphasized being coachable, working hard every day and bringing a positive attitude to the team. They also said they’re looking for me to contribute by pushing the level of play in practice, being a supportive teammate and doing my job consistently on the court.
“Overall, they want me to develop as a player, adjust to the college level, and help the team succeed however I’m needed. With me having two years of college experience playing, my role is to just play 100 percent of my ability that I can every time I step on the court.”
