Morgan Collier isn’t the first student-athlete to compete in multiple sports. In my 10 years of covering high school sports in this great state of Texas, I’ve seen football players compete in basketball and baseball. I’ve seen volleyball players go on to compete in soccer and softball.
But ever so often, you get a moment that you hardly see.
That’s where Collier comes into the picture.
She has quickly become one of the top volleyball players in Johnson County, Fort Worth and all of North Texas. She is a junior middle blocker and outside hitter on the Joshua volleyball team. But this week she is getting ready for a state run in another sport – power lifting.
Collier isn’t the first volleyball player to compete in power lifting and she won’t be the last, but those two sports don’t pop up every day, especially for someone as skilled in volleyball as Collier.
She – along with her Joshua teammates will be at the state meet on Saturday at the Comerica Center in Frisco. The meet will start with weigh-ins at 8 AM. Collier competes in the 165 pound class. It’s Collier’s first trip to state power lifting, where she will attempt to have the highest scores in the squat, bench press and deadlift.
“As I entered high school and a bigger school, I got settled in,” said Collier, who has been playing volleyball since the fourth grade. “I learned about all of the things Joshua had to offer and I was intrigued by powerlifting so I joined my sophomore year and I fell in love.”
Collier is one of five girls from Joshua going to state.
At regionals- her numbers included 315 pounds on squat, 145 on bench and 365 on deadlift – which comes out to a total of 825. Her four teammates also going are Kendall Criner, Ashlynn Evans, Maddi Valles and Jazmyne Brown.
Last fall, the Joshua volleyball team finished second in District 8-5A with a 13-3 record and went 27-19 overall. The Owls made a playoff appearance and finished in the b-district round with a loss to Birdville.
Collier got multiple awards for her great season.
She was voted offensive player of the year by District 8-5A, co-offensive player of the year in Johnson County by the Cleburne Times Review and co-offensive player of the year by her team. Collier ended the year with 327 kills, 2.7 per set, 105 blocks and a 0.311 hitting percentage.
“When it comes to both sports it’s an individual but also a team sport in different aspects, and I love the way both sports are,” Collier said. “Power lifting helps with keeping me in shape for the next volleyball season, even though we have off season you still need to put in the extra work.”
Collier will also do something for the first time on Saturday – power lifting and volleyball on the same day. After she finishes the state meet in Frisco, she is headed to North Richland Hills for club volleyball. She plays with Athletic Performance Volleyball for a two-day tournament with Saturday’s matches starting at 3 PM.
