Vibe setter Marlie Monserez looks to championship run

Marlie Monserez, standout setter for the first-place Atlanta Vibe of the Professional Volleyball Federation, is preparing to lead the team in the inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation Championship on May 18 at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Vibe recently clinched a playoff spot in the postseason. Monserez, who played at Florida and UCLA, discusses her experience playing professionally and how she is preparing for the upcoming championship run.

Q. What is one piece of advice that has stuck with you?

A. I would say the biggest ... was just to be yourself. Like my sister used to write BM on her hand, for “Be Maddie.” ... I wrote BM, not all throughout, but like towards the end of college, when I started to realize that was like really cool to be yourself. I wrote BM on my hand before games, for Be Marlie!

Q. Do you not do it anymore?

A. I don’t. I normally write something. Right now, I write joy ... it wasn’t really a piece of advice that somebody gave me, but I found that volleyball is something we do for fun and it’s a really cool thing we get to do, not have to do. So, if I’m not having fun or I don’t have joy, there’s really no point for me to do it.

Q. This is the first season of the Pro Volleyball Federation. How do you see it growing even more?

A. It’s been really awesome . ... All the (teammates) are really cool, really hardworking and have a common goal to win, but also to have fun. That kind of separates us from the other teams. Honestly, what is super surprising is how many fans are being brought in every single game . ... So, I think it’s really cool. I feel like I’m being treated great. And the cities that they chose to put them in are really cool volleyball towns.

Q. What is the major difference between college volleyball and professional?

A. In college volleyball, you can kind of get away with a few games where you’re playing a team that you’re way better than, and I would say that’s not the case here.

Normally, you’d say like “oh speed of the game,” but I think college is really fast. I almost think pro, at this level, it’s blocking and defense. It’s so different. There’s way more things there that just aren’t hitting the ground. There’s way more balls that are being blocked that never were blocked in college. So, I would say the extended rallies and just how good you have to be to finish a rally.

Q. So far, what have you done to compete at your highest level?

A. I’d say the biggest thing I’ve done that’s different than what I did in college is just being super active outside of volleyball. Like between Alli (Linnehan) and Grace (Cleveland) and myself and a few other girls on the team, we’re always walking. Like on a game-day walk, or a walk after practice, or just being outside and being active and doing other things that fuel your tank

Q. How did playing two years of beach volleyball at UCLA strengthen your indoor skills?

A. Playing beach was more of an emotional growth for me than volleyball growth. I think it mainly brought me so much joy and being on a team with so many cool girls, it was the first time I had been on a team where every single person was genuinely awesome. It was really refreshing and it made me want to keep playing . ... I loved Florida, I loved my time there and playing indoor, but it was more stress. I think beach volleyball just kind of brought the joy back for me, like the learning mindset and being able to start fresh. Then I went back to indoor and wanted to learn more.

Q. How have you all been able to put differences aside and come together?

A. Everyone’s a really awesome person on this team. So, if we lose, if there’s a bad game, if whatever, everyone knows your teammates aren’t going to be mad at you . ... People come from different backgrounds, but I think every person on our team cares the same level and wants to win, wants to have fun and wants to make the most out of this league.

Q. So, you had your little viral moment talking about Tori Stringer when she was still with the Vibe. I know you guys were close and you looked up to her as you guys were both setters. What did you learn from her to really lead this team today?

A. I think being in the same gym as Tori just helped me really learn to compete again. In college there’s a few times where there’s someone so talented in your same position. We were really close off the court, but on the court we were able to compete and still have fun.

Q. Being from Windermere, Florida, what does it mean to you to be playing volleyball in the South, especially in Atlanta?

A. It’s so cool. You know, there’s a team in Florida, but Atlanta is really not that far from home and my parents get to come to most every game and my dad actually works in Atlanta for most of the year. I love being really close to home.

Paige Collins is a student i at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.