West Ottawa graduate Alexa Borgman is a volleyball All-American

When Alexa Borgman was a high school volleyball player, her height, power and athleticism loaded her with potential.

But at West Ottawa, she was never the best player on the court, leaving her a little uncertain about her abilities – but they were there.

Borgman just needed the right college situation to grow her confidence.

Fast forward four years and Borgman was NCCAA Regional Player of the Year and second-team All-American at Grace University.

“I felt like I left everything on the court this year and I dominated, and that showed in my stats quite a bit,” she said. “I just wanted to play with a passion this year. When I was first-team all-region I just broke into tears because I never expected it, then the bigger awards came, and I was just in shock.”

Grace made it to the regional finals, led by Borgman, who was in the top three in the NCCAA in kills and kill percentage.

“That was not something I thought about in high school. I was pretty uncertain,” she said. “But it has been really cool to see. Something in me clicked this year and I went in with confidence the entire time.”

One thing that she was certain about in high school was her blocking ability. She has continued that through college.

But this year, Grace graduated its entire starting lineup except Borgman and one other player. So the team needed offense.

After playing right-side as a freshman, then spending a year looking to finesse her shots as an outside, Borgman brought back her powerful swing and simply dominated. She had 369 kills, while hitting .301. She also had 25 aces and 22 blocks. She had 813 kills in her career and will look to reach 1,000 in her final season.

“When I first started, I started on the right-side because that is where they put the biggest block,” Borgman said. “I had never played outside before, so it involved a lot of training outside of the gym. I was lifting a lot and working on my jumping and when I got to practice it was about hitting shots instead of just hitting with power. I know I have a powerful swing, but I knew if I was on the outside, I would have to hit smarter.

“This year coach wanted me to work on my power, and my confidence came with it. I feel more grown up as a player and my character really developed.”

Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as  Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.