Bio

2019 Grizzly Hall of Fame inductee video, Patricia Figueiredo shares how attending Missouri State-West Plains changed her life.

Grizzly Volleyball found a rare gem when coaches brought Patricia Figueiredo to the team in 2008. The 5-foot, 9-inch setter from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was the total package. Not only did she have great ability to make her attackers look good, she herself could be a force at the net as an attacker and a blocker.

“Paty was a complete player in all areas, which is rare to find,” Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said. “Her skill as a setter was high level, and her ability to be a presence on the floor as an attacker and blocker was a huge bonus you don’t find very often. She not only produced points by how she ran the floor as a setter, she also was a powerful and efficient attacker her sophomore year.”

The coaching staff learned about Figueiredo from fellow countryman and former Grizzly Juliana Nogueira. “The connection that was created through Juliana was instant. Once we saw her on video, we knew she could be a special player. She had skill, talent and was physical in how she played the game. It was obvious she played with confidence. It’s a great combination to have,” Wiedemann said.

Figueiredo came to the Grizzlies already a champion, having earned a gold medal with her high school team, Centro Educacional da Lagoa, in the Brazilian Junior Volleyball Championship and a silver medal in the School Olympic Games.

It didn’t take long for Figueiredo to make an impact on a very young Grizzly team in 2008. In its first outing at the Iowa Western Community College tournament, Paty recorded 142 assists. She continued racking up assists her first season, ending with 1,735 in the 5-1 offense – sixth best in a single season in Grizzly history at the time.

“When she arrived in West Plains, she was excited, nervous and quiet at first, but it didn’t take long before she was running the show on the floor,” Wiedemann recalled. “She made such a difference from the beginning to the end of the year. The way she played could be mesmerizing. She made hard things look effortless.”

That included running an efficient offense and giving her attackers a good set off a poorly passed ball. “Paty’s ability to run an offense off of out-of-system passes was excellent. She gave our attackers something good to swing at, regardless of where the pass was. She may have been one of our best setters in dealing with out-of-system passes. Plus, she was willing to do whatever was best for the team. The strength of the team was more important, and we were able to play into those strengths because of her ability to do anything on the floor,” Wiedemann said.

Her willingness to do whatever the team needed paid dividends her sophomore season when the Grizzlies switched to a 6-2 offense. She still led the team in assists (620), but she also recorded 222 kills, a .271 attacking percentage, 58 blocks, 35 aces, 315 digs and 315 points earned.

“She was third on that team in kills and second in efficiency behind Kate Stepanova,” Wiedemann said. “We were a stronger team because she was willing to do whatever, even giving up running a 5-1, to help us be the best we could be.”

Figueiredo’s skill as a setter helped Grizzlies Nile Whaley-Garrison and Stepanova, earn first and second team NJCAA All-American honors, respectively, in 2008 and Stepanova to earn first team honors in 2009. Her ability to play a complete game earned the two-time first team All-Region 16 Team honoree her own first team NJCAA All-American honor in 2009.

Figueiredo’s skills also helped the Grizzlies post records of 38-15 in 2008 and 27-9 in 2009, earn their 10^th and 11^th NJCAA Region 16 Championship titles, and place seventh in the 2008 NJCAA Division I Women’s National Volleyball Championship and second the following year.

“We were not satisfied with the way we finished the 2008 season,” Figueiredo said of the 2009 national championship run. “We fought to bring the national championship home in return for all the support and love that we had from the school, our coaches, host families, friends and everyone who impacted our lives. The 2009 year was unforgettable and special in so many ways. We were proud of what we accomplished as a team and the legacy that we left for the program.”

By the time Figueiredo left the program, she was fourth in career assists with 2,355, 11th in attacking percentage for outside/right side attackers with .314, 18^th in digs with 662, and 18^th in aces with 66.

Figueiredo graduated from Missouri State University-West Plains with an Associate of Arts in General Studies degree in May 2010 and transferred to Florida State University where she helped the Seminoles earn the ACC championship in 2010. A back injury sidelined her the following year.

She graduated from Florida State in May 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree and later earned a master’s degree in leadership studies and communication at the University of Texas-El Paso. She is now the assistant volleyball coach and a financial aid specialist at Montana State University-Northern in Havre.

Figueiredo said she has so many wonderful memories of her time as a Grizzly, including the many lifelong friendships she developed with her teammates, her host family and the university’s faculty and staff who helped her in so many ways off the court.

“It is hard to put into words the moments and people I met in West Plains. The idea of moving from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to West Plains was a bit scary at the beginning, but today I know that it was the best thing I did in my life. Every single moment in West Plains and every person I met was special in so many ways. It brings tears to my eyes to think about the fondest memories of my time at Missouri State-West Plains. This place is amazing and so special to me,” she said.

As for her legacy, Figueiredo sees it as part of her teams’ legacy. “We fought together every day to make sure that our best was done on the court. We wanted to be proud of our time together, and I’m sure we are proud of what we accomplished. We had a team that believed in teamwork, effort and was never afraid to compete. We were a family on and off the court. We learned that great results take effort and it can be hard sometimes, but the proud feeling at the end makes it all worth it,” she said.

“I will be forever grateful for the experience I had and for how my life changed while being at Missouri State-West Plains,” she added. “I’m proud to be a Grizzly, and I wouldn’t change it for anything!”

Wiedemann said she is happy that such a well-deserving member of the Grizzly Volleyball team has been chosen for the Grizzly Hall of Fame.

“She puts herself in rare company when you talk about great setters in our program. We have been fortunate enough to have had three setters who were also great attackers – Quanna Speake Hafer, Laura Paul Gilbert and Paty. She played such a complete game at such a high level, it’s hard to put her in a category of players. She was such a great player who made everyone around her better. The love she has for our program, for the university and the community is something special. She was a special player and a special person in the Grizzly Volleyball program,” the coach said.

  Patricia’s Missouri State-West Plains Career Stats 2008-2009 • 285 Sets Played

Patricia’s Florida State Career Stats 2010 • 130 Sets Played