‘Inside UVA’: The Life of a Student-Athlete Takes Discipline

May 23, 2023 By Jane Kelly, jak4g@virginia.edu Jane Kelly, jak4g@virginia.edu

Audio: ‘Inside UVA’: The Life of a Student-Athlete Takes Discipline(22:41)

This week, President Jim Ryan hosts student-athlete Madison Morey to learn how she balances her life as a Division I volleyball player and a media studies major.

Transcript

Get up at 6 a.m.

At 6:45 a.m., lift weights for an hour.

Get breakfast and go to class.

Hit the gym at 2:30 p.m. for 3½ hours of practice and team meetings.

Have dinner and do homework.

Rinse and repeat.

This is Madison Morey’s life as a student-athlete at the University of Virginia.

Morey, a captain of UVA’s volleyball team, plays a mysterious-sounding position called the libero.

“The libero position is a defensive position,” Morey explained to UVA President Jim Ryan as his guest on the podcast “Inside UVA,” a package of stories he shares to show the inner workings of a large public university.

“We’re basically some of the smallest on the team,” she said. “We are the ones who tend to have the best ball control on the team. We just basically try to keep the ball alive for our team and set up a great first contact so our setters and hitters can do the work together.”

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Madison Morey smiling in studio with headphones on recording Inside UVA episode

Morey’s dream is to be a sports journalist. (Photo by Patrick Boling, UVA Athletics)

Upon hearing Morey’s daily routine, Ryan’s first reaction was, “Wow. You must be incredibly disciplined.”

“Very,” she responded. “Discipline has always been a big part of my life.”

When Morey is not on the volleyball court, the rising fourth-year student is in the classroom earning credits toward her media studies major.

She comes from a sports-loving family who cheered on teams like the Green Bay Packers and the Atlanta Braves. “Growing up being a big sports watcher, I always watched Sunday football,” she told Ryan. “And while watching, we always watched Erin Andrews and I was saying to my dad … ‘Dad, I want to do that.’” Morey was referring to Fox sports reporter Erin Andrews.

“I thought it would be so cool, being able to do … sports anchoring and covering and traveling with teams and covering games … so that’s why I chose media studies,” she said.

You can learn more about her journey by tuning into this week’s episode of “Inside UVA” and catch up on previous shows, which can be found on most podcast apps, including Apple PodcastsSpotify and Google Podcasts.

Media Contact

Jane Kelly

University News Senior Associate Office of University Communications