Student-Athlete Spotlight: McKenzie Moss, Volleyball

UAA volleyball player McKenzie Moss #6 is used to playing on a team. As the youngest of 10 children, she has grown accustomed to the dynamics of a team setting.

The Anchorage native graduated from Bartlett High School in 2008 as a UA Scholar. She played competitively on Bartlett's varsity volleyball team and was named "Most Valuable Player" her junior and senior years. The promising player made the decision to attend UAA to play volleyball, something she's been doing since the seventh grade.

Her first year at UAA was also Coach Chris Green's first year with the Seawolves. "He's really turned the program around," said McKenzie. "I put a lot of trust in him; he really knows what he's talking about." McKenzie said that Coach Green and Assistant Coach Nikki Rose know how to strike a balance between hard work and fun to help her and her teammates become better volleyball players.

The Seawolves recently completed the best season in UAA's history with a 23-8 overall record, their first Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) title and their first-ever National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament victory. The team won a record 13 matches in a row. Coach Green was also named the NCAA Division II West Region Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

"This season was my best experience so far. The team set a goal at the beginning of the season to win GNAC and we did. It feels good to achieve your goals. It makes us want to make an even bigger goal for next season."

An outside hitter, McKenzie hits and blocks on the front left side of the court. Coach Green said that she played all around the court last season. Not only did she play as an outside hitter, but she was also one of the team's primary passers.

Her coach said that McKenzie is a player who has improved a ton from her freshman year to her sophomore year. "Not only have we seen improvement physically, but she has gained a lot of confidence," said Coach Green. "She is becoming more of a vocal leader on the team. We look forward to her junior year next season."

McKenzie feels honored to be a student-athlete at UAA. "I didn't realize how big of a deal it would be," she said. "It's a lot of hard work, but it pays off." She describes her teammates as her sisters. "We spend so much time together, even in our free time."

While competing, McKenzie and her teammates miss a lot of classes due to travel, especially during the fall semester. She admits to finding it difficult to schedule classes between games, practice, lifting weights and study hall. "I'm not able to take all the classes I want, but it ends up being a good thing, not taking too many classes at one time."

McKenzie is currently a sophomore majoring in civil engineering. As a part of her major, she's required to take complex courses like chemistry, physics and geology. To help balance coursework with the game, the players study together in study hall. The Athletics Department also offers free tutors to its students, which McKenzie takes advantage of.

One of McKenzie's brothers is an engineer and motivated her to consider majoring in civil engineering. After talking to more people about it, she realized that it was the path for her. "I'm good at math; it's something I really enjoy," said McKenzie. Though someday she would like to go on to graduate school, she plans to stay in Alaska for a couple of years after graduating to work in structural engineering.