Bio

Her arrival may have been delayed, but the impact Mafo Joelle made on the Grizzly Volleyball program during the 2005 and 2006 seasons and beyond is unquestionable.

The 5-foot, 11-inch left-handed middle/outside attacker from Yaounde, Cameroon, quickly came in and made her presence on the court known, leading the team in kills and attacking percentage in her first outing as a Grizzly.

“She was pretty sure about herself and what she could do, but it took some time for her to get used to what we do as a team, her teammates and being in a new culture,” Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said.

“One thing Mafo had that no one questioned was a big, lefty arm swing. You don’t need to say a whole lot when you can swing like that. Her arm swing was so good and being a lefty in the middle her freshman year made it harder to match up and defend against her. She really improved in her offensive game throughout the year, and by national tournament time, she was really hard to stop.”

Before she could improve, though, she had to acclimate to the program’s training regimen and a new position. “It’s funny because she was a little bit of a diva when she first got here, and she had to figure out what was going to help her be really successful,” Wiedemann said. “She was shocked at the conditioning she was expected to do, and the first time she had to run sprints, she sat down in the bleachers because she was ‘tired.’ Her reaction to Keri telling her to get back on the line to run was priceless.

“To me, though it’s more memorable because she was the one during her sophomore year who was talking to the freshmen about putting more effort into the conditioning workouts and getting frustrated when they wouldn’t give good effort,” Wiedemann added. “Things came full circle to her, and it’s something that made a difference for her moving forward in all the things she did as a player and continues to do as a coach.”

Mafo said those efforts did make her a better player and led to the success she had with the program and afterward. “Being at West Plains really pushed me past my limits. I understood I needed to be in the best physical shape of my life to compete at the highest level. I credit Coach Keri for this one because she really did push me. I understood later what she was trying to do in my career, so I thank her for this.”

The improvements Mafo made in practice her freshman season showed up on court. On a team that featured four future Grizzly Hall of Famers, Mafo led the Grizzlies in multiple categories on several occasions, picking up two all-tournament team honors during the regular season and an All-Region 16 accolade in the postseason. She even recorded one of the program’s highest hitting percentages on Nov. 1, 2005, when she recorded a .909 against State Fair Community College.

In the 2005 NJCAA Division I Women’s National Volleyball Championship Tournament, Mafo led the team in kills against Midland College in the first round and against College of Southern Idaho in the semifinals, and she had 19 kills against Western Nebraska Community College to help the Grizzlies secure a third-place win. Her efforts earned her a spot on the all-tournament team.

During her sophomore season, Mafo moved back to the outside hitting position, but she still set the tone for the team, recording 17 kills in the first game. She continued leading the team at the net until a shoulder injury sidelined her in mid-September. “Even when she was out due to a shoulder injury, she stayed engaged and involved, so when she returned, the team was ready for her to be back on the court,” Wiedemann said.

Mafo returned a month and a half later, and although it took her a few games to get back into the swing of things, she was ready to make an impact for the Grizzlies in the postseason. She helped the team win its eighth consecutive Region 16 title and return to the national tournament.

In the tournament, which was at the West Plains Civic Center, Mafo recorded 12 kills against Northwest-Shoals Community College in the first round and another 9 against San Jacinto College-Central in the second to help the Grizzlies reach the semifinals once again. Unfortunately, history repeated itself and the Grizzlies lost, this time to Iowa Western Community College, a team they had defeated three times during the regular season.

Mafo recalled that defeat and the third-place game the following day against North Idaho College. “We all went back to the dorms and cried as a team because we didn’t understand how we lost to them when we beat them during the season,” she said. “The coaches did not know about this, but we gathered ourselves that next morning and made it a point to beat North Idaho and finish third again that year. We worked hard as a team to be the best. We wanted to win as a team.”

Win they did in a five-set nail biter, securing a national tournament legacy that subsequent Grizzly teams use to measure themselves. “I played with the best players the program has ever had – Candace Saleaumua, Luiza Jaroka, Amy Lusk, Patricia Gandolfo, just to name a few. I played with the best, so I became one of the best while learning from them,” Mafo said.

By the end of her sophomore season, Mafo was third among all-time Grizzlies in attacking percentage for outside/right side hitters and eighth among all hitters (.330) and sixth in points earned (959).

“Mafo was a really good player when she arrived, and she worked hard to be a great player by the time she left,” Wiedemann said. “She played with some great teammates, and we were better with her on the court because of her ability to score points and be a big presence on the floor. Every team needs that, and she was a big part of those teams finishing third at the national championships.”

After graduating with an Associate of Arts in General Studies degree in May 2007, Mafo transferred to Arkansas State University in Jonesboro where she completed her collegiate career. She received a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion in 2009 and is now living in Austin, Texas, where she is the head volleyball coach at Huston-Tillotson University.

“I am trying to build a successful volleyball program like the one at West Plains,” Mafo said. “I will always do what I can to help others like me achieve their goals. That opportunity happened for me, and I want to make sure other young women get that same opportunity. I am so proud to be a Grizzly, and I will always be one.”

Mafo’s Missouri State-West Plains Career Stats    2005-2006 • 229 Sets Played

Mafo’s Arkansas State Career Stats 2007-2008 • 199 Sets Played