Daily Egyptian Reporter 17

Recruited out of high school as a middle blocker, SIUC volleyball player Marlo Moreland had doubts if she could play the position at the collegiate level.

Moreland’s quickness enabled her to have success in high school. But standing only 5 feet 7 inches tall, she did not have the ideal size to compete with the middle blockers of the Missouri Valley Conference.

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In an effort to utilize her quickness, Moreland switched to the outside hitter position, a move she said was for the best.

I was too short, Moreland, a junior from Lancaster, Texas, said. It was better for me because I couldn’t have played middle at this level.

Moreland spent her freshman year adjusting to her new position. At outside hitter, she was required to cover more areas on the court.

It was hard at first to adjust, but I have gotten used to it, Moreland said. In the middle you just block, but at outside (hitter) I had to play a lot more defense.

SIUC assistant volleyball coach Jill Misner knew it would only be a short time before Moreland made her presence felt. Misner said Moreland’s athletic talent allows her to do things on the court with great ease.

Marlo is a great athlete, Misner said. Her style of play is what some people might consider laid-back, but that’s just the way she plays.

As a sophomore, Moreland settled into a more comfortable role at outside hitter. Playing in all 33 matches, she set the school record for kills in a season with 493. Her efforts earned her second-team all-MVC honors.

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A slow start this season has kept Moreland off last year’s record-setting pace. Still, she has managed to lead the team in kills (356), and she recorded a team-high 24 kills against Southeast Missouri State University Sept. 9.

Moreland credits fewer opportunities to perform her signature move as one of the main reasons for the decline in production. She said opposing teams are forcing her to take difficult shots.

I know I’m not scoring the way I did last year because they know me now, Moreland said. They don’t give me my favorite shot, which is down the (base) line. They set to the outside and that forces me to hit at an angle, which is my weakest shot.

But for the most part, defenses have been unable to contain Moreland. Her 15 kills against Drake University Saturday marked the 21st consecutive time she has reached double figures in the category.

And when Moreland does make that successful kill, she is not afraid to let her opponents know it. Expressing emotion is one of the elements of her game Moreland enjoys most.

You have to have some type of confidence in yourself when you do something and know you did a good job of doing it, Moreland said. I’m just that type of player, and I think it gives my team momentum.

Moreland’s teammate and close friend Monique Galvin is usually one of the first to congratulate her. Galvin, a junior middle blocker from Chicago, considers Moreland as the team’s spark plug.

I would have to say she is the Energizer bunny, Galvin said. It’s encouraging when you have a player like that, who adds personality to the game.

With two games left in the season, Moreland already is looking toward her senior season. After watching seniors Traci Eggers and Erika Holladay end their home careers Saturday night with a win, Moreland is eager to see what the future has in store for her.

Personally, I want to end it by breaking some kind of record, Moreland said. And I want all my family to be there to watch us win the game.