The Essex girls have been a part of Muskogee High volleyball for several years now. The oldest of the three, Raegan, started things off and now Marli, a junior, and London play for the Roughers. “I learned so much last year playing with Raegan about carrying yourself and being composed and how she helped me and everyone else and now I have a chance to be the older sister and pass these traits along to London who is the libero and helps me do my job as a setter. Having her there is really special and it also pushes me to be a better team leader to lead by example and make sure I’m someone she and rest of the team can count on.” Marli is the setter on the team which requires a lot of good communication and skill. “The toughest part of being the setter is being fast and being able to see the court in your mind as you’re getting ready to set the ball and know where your hitters are going to be and then setting the ball where each one likes it to be and this all requires good communication and practice between the setter and the hitters. The setter really runs the court, and everything goes off how the setter does. It can be hard if the passers aren’t quite on target with their passes to me.”

Marli’s start in volleyball came naturally enough watching Raegan play and then she got her break at age 10. “When I was 10 Raegan’s coach (John) Hammer let me start playing club ball and it was so fun to play with my sister and get better and it’s gone on since then,” said Marli who also plays tennis doubles for the Roughers. “The most fun part of volleyball is the teammates. They’re my best friends and I’ve been playing with them for five years now.” New coach Tracy Wilmes has brought a new atmosphere to the team according to Marli. “The girls are excited about the new coach and the new opportunities with some of them even changing positions since the coach didn’t know anything about us.”