Over the weekend, Bearcats senior outside hitter Maria Mallon became only the 9th player in school history to join the 1000 kill, 1000 dig club. The last player to accomplish this feat, was Jordan Thompson, who is now a Olympic gold medalist. For people who know the sport of volleyball, they would know how incredible of a feat it is to record 1000 kills, 1000 digs. Mallon has became a very big piece to the Bearcats volleyball programs success over the last few seasons, as she has had a very decorated career at Cincinnati over the past four years, where she has earned multiple First Team All-AAC selections, helped the Bearcats reach the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in program history and much more.
For people who don’t know her, Maria Mallon is a senior outside hitter from Chesterfield, Michigan, where she attended Anchor Bay High School. Mallon has had an incredible journey when it comes to the sport of volleyball, Earlier this week I was able to sit with Maria and discuss her volleyball career, and what it means to join such an elite club becoming the 9th player in school history to join the 1000 kills, 1000 digs club. We also reflected on Maria’s journey that ultimately led her to becoming a Cincinnati Bearcat. Maria broke down what it was like for herself as a player at such a young age and her decision to commit to the University of Cincinnati.
“The recruiting process growing up has always been a fun, very stressful thing, because you are starting at such a young age. I started getting recruited in 8th grade, and its like, what do you know in 8th grade? Cincinnati gave me an incredible opportunity to come here. About 80% of the schools I was talking to did not believe in me as a player, I was always the undersized, short, outside, who won’t be able to play at a high level. I will be able to play back row at a high level, but I would never be able to play front row. It was really hard being turned down by a lot of big schools, my big thing was trying to find that perfect fit for me, somewhere I would be happy, where the coaches believed in me, where I could play front row. Cincinnati gave me that opportunity, they told me that I could play front row, they believed in me, they told me I would do great things at this school. I had came on a visit to Cincinnati, and it was not like any school that I had ever been to, the campus is so awesome, but it’s so different than a lot of other schools, its very compact. You know there’s that athlete side, school side, it was the perfect mix for both, I really fell in love with it, I fell in love with the aspect of people believing in me, being able to accomplish something. I loved the team, I loved the coaches and it just kind of went from there.”
Mallon, has been such a huge part in the recent success over the past four seasons for the Bearcats, helping the team reach the NCAA tournament in 2019, defeating the No. 2 team in the country in Pittsburgh to advance to the programs first ever Sweet 16. Mallon opened up and discussed her relationship with coach Alvey and the staff at Cincinnati over the last four years.
“You know coach Alvey, she’s like a second mom. I’m from Michigan, so being five in a half hours or so away, you don’t have someone you can talk to about a lot of things, I feel like I can go to her whenever I need help. She’s a really good second mom for me, away from my mother, and having a good relationship with someone like that, especially in her spot, her resume like you said, it’s awesome to be able to communicate with someone on such a positive term, and work through a lot of things. Coach and player relationships, you know they could be up and down, but knowing at the end of the day that someone believes in you, they want you to be your best, they know what you can do, is such a powerful thing, and she really has that with me, and I feel the same with her. It’s fantastic!”
I asked Maria how special it was to join such an elite company in the 1000 kill, 1000 dig club, and what that meant to her as a player.
“It’s really an incredible experience, honestly it puts a smile on my face. I’m a very competitive person, whether it’s sports, schools, working out, or even bowling on the weekend, or whatever I want to do, I want to win. I want to prove to everyone that I can beat them. You know being told “No” by so many people, being told I would never be able to play with these girls that are 6-foot-5, 6-foot-2, anything above 6 foot, being told I wouldn’t be able to do that, has me work even harder. I’m 5-feet-8, but to show them that I am able to go and play at this level is something that will always put a smile on my face. Especially in preseason games, where we have played huge teams, from the Big 10, SEC, that’s some of the most exciting volleyball you get to play. Showing all of these coaches that told you no, and looking back at my coaches now, coach Alvey, coach White, coach Kevin, them looking at me now, telling me, you can do this, we believe in you 100%. It pushes me to become a better player everyday.”
