Student Athlete of the Week – Molly Murphy
“I really love this sport and I feel like being captain is what I’ve always wanted to be,” Molly Murphy said.
A goal, now realized. Murphy earned that title on the Palm Springs volleyball team for her senior season.
“Molly is such a bright person. She has such a great character and she’s a natural born leader. Whatever she does, literally anyone will follow,” said head coach Hope Stagg. “She’s been awesome with communicating with the girls and letting them know when we need to get after it. This is what we need to do and here’s how we need to get there.”
With a new head coach this year, Murphy had to step up even more as a leader, taking the initiative to reach out right away.
“I have found in her that she’s a person I can definitely depend on,” Stagg said. “Literally, I can be thinking something and Molly will voice it to me or she will already do it, so it’s been such a smooth transition having Molly as my captain.”
Molly prides herself on her ability to be a team player. Something she learned from her dad, Dan Murphy, who’s the Indians’ head football coach.
“Ever since I was little, I’ve been around football and sports,” she said. “I really wanted to do it when I was in high school. Because he taught me mostly everything. I always wanted to do sports no matter what it was.”
Molly says she started playing volleyball because of her friends, but immediately fell in love with the sport and began to excel.
“I think what’s helped me is just being hardworking and always just wanting to come into the gym every single day,” she said.
Even on weekends and off days, you can find Molly in the gym working on her craft. A work ethic that new coach Hope Stagg immediately recognized and admired about her.
“Molly’s an individual who gets after everything. She will go after every ball, whether it’s shanked or it’s in the net, or it’s a perfect pass. Molly will be there no matter what. So it’s nice to be able to count on somebody like that and the girls know, ‘I messed up, it’s ok. Molly’s going to be there no matter what,'” Stagg said. “So there’s that trust and that bond between not only the girls, but between me and Molly.”
Now, Molly says her motivation is playing in college. Something she’s working for every day.
KESQ
