Rutgers-Newark Athletics

By Jim Hague

Grant Metheny was all set to have a solid junior year for the Rutgers-Newark men’s volleyball program a year ago, when disaster struck.

“I broke my collarbone,” Metheny said. “It was really frustrating sitting around and watching my teammates practice and play. I didn’t feel good about it at all.”

Metheny was fortunate enough to receive a medical redshirt year from the NCAA for missing all of last season due to the injury. However, when he returned to action this season, the Los Alamitos, California native had to learn how to play a different position. Head coach Karl France wanted to move Metheny from outside hitter, his natural position, to the middle.

“He’s one of the more mature players we have and he’s one of my first recruits,” France said. “He has a desire to win. He knows what we want to do and he’s one of the first to want to get it done. So I thought he was more than tall enough to move to the middle. It takes some time to adjust, but I thought he could do it, because he has long arms and he’s also willing to do anything to help us.”

Metheny didn’t know if he could handle the position change.

“It’s a tough transition,” Metheny said. “It’s a lot different. I’ve been getting a lot of solid advice from other guys who played the middle. I think I’m doing all right. I just have to watch the ball and pay more attention. It’s also a mental transition and it’s been a little hard adjusting to it. The worst part about it is that I don’t get to play as much defense. But it’s definitely the best opportunity for the team.”

France likes Metheny’s versatility.

“He’s able to help us in every aspect of the game,” France said. “He’s a good server and now he helps us get a little better in the middle. He’s one of our most experienced players and this looks like it’s one of our most experienced teams. It is a tough transition because of positioning and where he has to be on the floor. It’s like learning a whole new thing. We have some time now before the start of the season to get the kinks out and get everyone on track.”

France likes what Metheny brings emotionally.

“He’s definitely one of those high-energy guys,” France said. “He’s emotional and energizing. But we also have to teach Grant to keep it under control. He can become a very good lightning rod for the entire team.”

Although he’s still a junior (given the extra year due to the injury), Metheny is looked at as a team leader.

“He has shown a lot of leadership over the last six months,” France said. “He realizes that this is a special group and he understands what he has to do and what we need to do. We all want the same goal, to host a playoff game. If we can do that, it would be a good thing for our program. Grant wants to be a part of that.”

When France recruited Metheny from southern California more than three years ago, Metheny had no idea what Newark even was.

“Karl found me playing in Junior Olympics (in 2006) and I then started to think about Rutgers and Newark,” Metheny said. “I didn’t know about Newark. I heard about Rutgers in New Brunswick because of the football team, but I never heard of Newark. It was awesome to get to see a different side of the country. When I decided to come here, I had to get all new jackets. I also had no winter clothes. I had to get used to the weather out here.”

But Metheny, who is a physics major at Rutgers-Newark, is glad to have been given the chance to come east and play NCAA Division I volleyball. He’s always been interested in physics and may want to pursue either solar observational physics or astrology.

“I think we’re all really excited for the season,” Metheny said. “It’s good to get back on the court. After not playing much the end of my sophomore year and missing all of last year, I can’t wait to get back out there. I’ve been waiting for this all year.”

And just like in school, Metheny hopes to be shooting for the stars this season for the Scarlet Raiders’ volleyball squad.