Florida standout leads volleyball team

Powerful slams and exuberant energy are two things opponents should be prepared for when standing on the opposite side of the volleyball net from Nikki Morzenti. The junior outside hitter packs a punch into her slams and releases her excitement in arena-shaking roars.

Since joining the team two years ago, Morzenti has been a large part of the UB volleyball team's success. As a freshman she started every game, a rare feat at the collegiate level. Over the past two years her game has only become stronger.

Morzenti grew up in Florida, and when she was in the sixth grade her older brother tried out for the men's volleyball team, inspiring her to do the same and pursue the sport.

"Sports have always ran in my family," Morzenti said. "My father played collegiate baseball and my mother was very involved in high school sports."

It didn't take long for Morzenti to stand out on the volleyball court as well as other fields of play. As a freshman at Palm Harbor High School, she was named All-Conference honorable mention, and All-Conference the next year as a sophomore. Morzenti also boasts a soccer state championship as a freshman.

Morzenti then transferred to Clearwater High School for her junior and senior year. At Clearwater she was a star on the court. She was named to Pinellas County All-Star first team and All-State first team. In 2003, she was named Clearwater's best all-around senior athlete while leading Clearwater HS to the Pinellas County Athletic Conference Championships.

"I just really have a love for this game," Morzenti said. "When I first started playing I knew I wanted to play this game for as long as I could."

The recruiters came calling as Morzenti became a senior at Clearwater High School. Morzenti had many schools to choose from but chose UB out of all of them.

"I met an assistant coach at a volleyball camp in North Carolina and started talking about making a trip up here to check out UB," Morzenti said. "I came up for the visit and really liked the atmosphere. The academic program I was interested in had a great reputation and so I made the decision to come up here. I always wanted to go somewhere different."

The exercise science major's impact on the court at UB was immediate. She was named to the Mid-American Conference All-Freshman team and recorded the most number of kills by a freshman in the school's history. In addition to her ability to rack up kills, Morzenti has an all around game as well-she was tied for second on the team with 28 service aces and had the fourth highest total of digs with a season total of 274.

Morzenti's outstanding rookie year also earned her the title of team's top newcomer.

"I wanted to come here and turn the program around," Morzenti said. "I really feel like this school could develop a very strong volleyball program."

As a sophomore, Morzenti led the team in kills with a season total of 288 and led the team in points with 327.5. As a result, she was named to the All-Tournament team at the Western New York Invitational when she averaged 2.5 digs and 3.9 kills per match over the course of three matches in the tournament. Morzenti was also named a scholar athlete for the second straight year at UB while majoring in exercise science in hopes to becoming a physical therapist.

This year, the volleyball team's hopes are high for the MAC tournament. Morzenti thinks the team has a good shot at improving on the past two years' performances.

"This year we can go deep into the MAC tournament," Morzenti said. "We are definitely playing much stronger this year as compared to my first two years at the school."

The Bulls are still looking for a conference win and will host defending MAC champions Ohio on Friday. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in Alumni Arena.