Being Marlie

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When Madison Monserez was a volleyball star at Florida several years back, she would scribble a message on her hand. It said, simply, "B.M." The two letters stood for "Be Maddy." It meant be driven, intense and throw yourself into the stands to chase down a ball, if necessary. That was seven years ago.

These days, it's Marlie Monserez leading the floor for the Gators and keeping a similar message in mind. "Be Marlie." That's when she's at her best. Free, flowing, smiling, risk-taking and having fun.

"I think if you're just being yourself on the court, then good things will happen," Marlie said. "I think if you're trying to fake something or try to be something you're not, that's when you're going to struggle."

The Monserez sisters: **Allie** (top left), **Maddy** (bottom left), **Marlie** (right)

Marlie is the third and final sister in a line of Monserezes to come through the UF volleyball program under Coach Mary Wise, whose fifth-ranked Gators (3-1) will play their home opener Sunday against No. 10 Minnesota (1-2) at Exactech Arena. The 2021 campaign will mark the 10th season over the last 11 when a Monserez — Madison (2011-14), Allie (2016-18) and now Marlie (2018-present) — have been on the floor.

As far as Marlie, the senior setter, and what the Gators are doing on the floor, things look a little different than when her sisters wore the orange and blue. As the floor general in the 5-1 offense, Marlie is the setter for all six rotations. She's the one directing traffic and helping set up the likes of T'ara Ceasar and Thayer Hall for kills, having posted 127 assists over the team's four matches during last week's West Coast road swing that ended with a loss at 20th-ranked Stanford.

"This year, my main thing is to be deceptive. Play the game, make people guess," Monserez said. "That's just taking my game to another level because it just makes it way more fun."

Being Marlie is going to be fun this season.

Despite the Monserez legacy, becoming a college volleyball player at Florida was not always the plan. For the first eight years of her life, Marlie shut down the idea of playing volleyball. And even with two older sisters absorbed in the sport, she had little pressure from her family to get into the sport.

Patty Monserez attended the University of Florida, where she was in a sorority and competed in all the intramural sports. When they were young, she recalls thinking that path would be best for her daughters.

"My dream wasn't for them to play college athletics," Patty said.

The girls grew up Notre Dame fans, akin to their dad playing basketball in Indiana. Mathew played some basketball in college and eventually some pro hoops overseas.

Young Madison, the oldest of the siblings, tried every activity under the Windemere, Fla., sun. She rode horses, acted and ice skated but eventually gravitated to volleyball. In time, Patty put Allie into volleyball at age 6, so she would go to the same activity. Marlie, meanwhile, was learning to walk, watching her sisters play at out-of-town club volleyball tournaments.

"The Easter bunny visited Marlie in a hotel room for 10 straight years," Patty said.

But Marlie wanted to be her own person.

She didn't pay much attention to the spectacles on the court. Rather, Marlie chose to watch movies on her DVD player or play on the iPad.

"I was like I don't want to do this, it's my whole life already," Marlie said.

Away from the games, mom and dad set high standards for their elder daughters, expecting all A's. Compared to Marlie, Patty joked, the other two girls needed therapy.

"Being the baby, we really didn't put expectations on her," Patty said.

Accordingly, Marlie was super easy-going growing up. Family and friends used the phrase "having a Marlie day" to indicate they were having a good day. Everyone aspired to a Marlie day.

Eventually, Maddy and Allie were playing at two different clubs in Orlando. Mathew and Patty would drive the sisters to practice while Marlie stayed with a babysitter. By this time, the family had dedicated so much time to volleyball that there was no pressure on Marlie to become a third player. And minimal expectations.

"We just figured she wasn't any good, because she was the baby," Patty said.

Then one day her babysitter brought her to volleyball class.

Marlie fell in love with the competitiveness of volleyball and liked the team size. She tried a few tennis lessons, but preferred the team dynamic in volleyball. The fact that the volleyball roster was smaller than other team sports multiplied the competition and the closeness of bonds with teammates.

The prior had always been well alive in the Monserez family.

Like the time Allie dove face-first into the sand to win a Christmas Day sprint on the beach. It wasn't just the kids, either. The parents aren't allowed to play ping-pong against each other anymore (there's is a hole in the wall at home to prove it).

Oddly, the sole area where the girls were not as competitive was at volleyball. Something that helped the Monserez family was that they were quiet about volleyball when not playing. Wise, in fact, identified Patty and Mathew as the ideal authors for a book on how to be good volleyball parents.

Over time, though, the game connected the family.

"Marlie would give up all her friends, dances, anything at school to go watch her sisters play volleyball," Patty said.

When recruiting the first Monserez, Wise asked an Orlando area club coach who would want to be a Gator enough and persevere through the reality she may never start for the team. She immediately said 'Maddy Monserez.' So, Maddy walked on to the team at UF as a defensive specialist. Marlie attended her sister Maddy's games throughout her preteens.

Marlie first met Wise when she was eight. Wise said Marlie's arms were longer than the 5-foot-6 Maddy's, and she was as tall (if not taller) by age 10.

One of her favorite birthday presents was the signed volleyball she received. It featured autographs from Tangerine Wiggs, Olympian Kelly Murphy and Kristy Jaeckal, a trio of Gator greats. Marlie knew she wanted to be a college athlete.

"I just remember like melting, 'Oh my God! This ball!' " she said. "It was the most amazing thing and I was like, 'I want to do that. I want to be like that. I want to be like my older sister and do this.' "

Mathew adored all his daddy's girls, and they could do no wrong. In Marlie's eyes, it was Maddy and Allie being super close and then Marlie being really close with her mom as the female duos of the house.

"It was my sisters and me and my mom because I was just the younger annoying little sister" Marlie said.

Initially, Marlie was unsure if she wanted to play volleyball for UF. She wanted to forge her own path. Marlie, though, attended a UF summer camp and was converted. She announced to her parents on the car ride on the way home she wanted to play for the Gators.

After Marlie verbally committed in front of her family, Allie transferred from South Carolina to UF in 2015. Patty says that Allie was the fashionable sister and always planned stuff out; fun stuff for family trips.

With many of Allie's friends graduating following the teams' 2017 run to the NCAA title match, the setter questioned returning for a fifth year of college before deciding to pursue a master's in entrepreneurship. It ended up being the most amazing thing for the Monserezes. They would play together for the first time.

At first, Marlie was a little nervous about encroaching on her older sister. They were always a close-knit family, but Allie and Marlie didn't constantly text each other. During their year in Gainesville, however, Marlie and Allie hung out practically every day. Even outside of volleyball, often at Allie's house.

"It was kind of fun to be like, 'Oh, my sister thinks I'm cool now, and I get to play with her," Marlie said.

Allie watched over Marlie as she transitioned into a new life away from home, but also set a strong example for the sister who took playing time from Allie in the 6-2 system.

When Patty insinuated Wise was too tough on Marlie, Allie stepped in and said Marlie should be playing better. At the same time, Allie protected Marlie and ensured that she would be ready to take over the reins.

"It was really one of the sweetest times for us," Patty said.

Marlie praised Allie's steadiness and consistency on the court. Marlie feels like she is more like Maddy in the regard that she is more high-strung. So, she set a goal for herself to emulate some of Allie's calmness.

"I need to be at least half that calm," Marlie thought.

In her freshman year, Marlie gained not only experience and wisdom, but a best friend. She also relaxed through the example set by Maddy.

Looking back, Marlie says she is almost jealous of the players that got to play with Maddy because when she watched her, Marlie thought she was "the best leader ever." So, with Maddy's example in mind, Marlie didn't feel pressure to be a six-rotation player because Maddy was the captain her senior year as a walk-on DS, even though she wasn't the starting libero. Marlie just needed to be a good person and teammate.

"Marlie understood that it was a chance for her to learn from others and took kind of a back seat," Wise recalled. "She has just grown in every way and it's exactly what you want as a college coach is to see the growth in a player, to embrace the growing process and mindfulness of what's required to improve your game. She has done that in all parts."

Though Wise didn't know the exact personality she would be getting when she began recruiting Marlie, the head coach knew she would be getting character, a hallmark of the Monserez family.

"Unfortunately there were only three daughters," Wise said.

Marlie is playing at a school where each one of the Monserez sisters possesses an individual legacy. The Florida fit turned out to be perfect for each.

"I looked at other places and nothing felt like home," Marlie said. "Nothing felt like Florida. The environment, the culture, the coaching staff, like, everything just fell right into place and I don't regret my decision for one second."

**Marlie Monserez**, who started all but one match the previous two seasons, entered 2021 as the team's active leader in assists (866), while also third in digs (231) and service aces (20), fourth in blocks (50.0) and sixth in points (120.5) and kills (74).

Now entering her fourth year at UF, Marlie feels more confident than ever. She encourages her teammates on the court. She's smiling, even if it's a very rare fake smile to rally the squad.

"Marlie just brings that light and that energy,that is so important on the court in stressful situations," redshirt senior middle blocker Lauren Forte said.

When the Gators play top 10 teams — like the Golden Gophers coming to town — Marlie is the person a player can look to. If Marlie's all right, the team will be alright, Forte says.

Plus, she takes risks at the net in attacking the second ball or tricking the defense to set her hitters for a big kill.

"I love the control aspect, I love being able to be involved in every play and the decision-making that goes that goes into it," Marlie said.

She's playing her dream position the whole game in the 5-1.

Marlie played outside her senior year of high school at Orlando Bishop Moore when several players left the team. While it was difficult for her to not set a single ball the whole year, she won the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year. The team's loss in the state finals stung deeply, but not quite to the level of her NCAA Tournament losses, the most recent being the five-set heartbreaker to No.1-seed Wisconsin in the Elite Eight last April.

They chase another one this season, with Marlie in the middle for all six rotations. Smiling, free and having fun.

Being Marlie.

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Players Mentioned

T'ara Ceasar

Lauren Forte

Thayer Hall

Marlie Monserez

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