A season after missing out on the Region Six tournament, TGU Volleyball finds itself atop the District 11 standings.

The Titans are 14-4 and an unblemished 3-0 in district play, a strong start that goes back to a lot of work put in this offseason by a roster that was motivated to improve and become a team to contend with in Region Six.

“We use the motivation from the last two years and just work really hard in the offseason and came into practice this season determined and focused,” Junior Outside Hitter Ashley Martodam said.

We really wanted to push this year and everybody had that fire under us knowing that we want to make it into regionals and we’ve kind of had that in the back of our minds the whole time,” Senior Setter Sydney Schock said.

One of the key players on the outside for Towner-Granville-Upham is Junior Outside Hitter Ashley Martodam, who contributes more than just front line power to the Titans lineup.

“Personally, I’ve been trying to improve my defense. I’ve been working on hitting but I really want to improve my defense, because I think that’s a part of my game that I can get better at,” Martodam said.

“Ashley is just a phenomenal athlete and a phenomenal kid and she’s one of our captains as well. She just brings this quiet, solid leadership to where the girls are comfortable with her and comfortable having the ball go to her. She was an outside last year. She started off as a middle, and just that willingness to work and adjust has been phenomenal,” Head Coach Erica Hjelmstad said.