Indiana University Athletics
Leach Leaves Lasting Legacy
11/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
PHOTO GALLERY
In seventh grade a gangly, awkward girl picked up the sport of volleyball and had to serve the ball underhanded to get it over the net.
Now, one of 17 players in IU volleyball history to record 1,000 or more kills, senior Morgan Leach has come a long way, on and off the court.
“I was really awkward,” Leach said. “I feel like they took a chance on me because I was tall. I definitely wasn’t the best one on the team by far. I was very skinny and very weak, so hitting the ball was really hard for me.”
Leach, a native of Champaign, Ill., grew up involved in dance and tried out volleyball when several of her friends convinced her to join.
In eighth grade she could serve the ball overhand and in the spring of ninth grade she tried out for a regional club team and turned enough heads to get the attention of the Illini Elite squad. Although her parents where not sure about the commitment level, Leach joined the team and started to see dramatic improvement in her game.
The next year the hard work started to pay off and Leach was the only sophomore to make varsity at Centennial High School. Following that season Leach received her first recruitment letter, from Indiana University and head coach Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan.
Sitting in her office getting ready for the Hoosiers last home match of the regular season, Dunbar can remember the first time she saw Leach play, at an AAU tournament in Orlando.
“She was in the far court upstairs,” Dunbar recalls. “Her length and natural athletic ability stood out. She had long arms and legs and was supper skinny. I enjoyed talking to her as she had a calmness about her and was funny at times and a really nice kid.”
Leach visited Bloomington and was struck by the beauty of the campus and the warm nature of the team and staff, everyone giving hugs and creating a welcoming environment.
Leach committed to Indiana around Thanksgiving of her junior year and would embark on a life changing experience over the next four years.
BIG SHOES TO FILL
The year before Leach started at Indiana, the volleyball team reached the Sweet 16. Leach, who was recruited as a middle blocker, would be taking over for First Team All-American Ashley Benson.
“When I came in it was a little bit scary, but the girls were really helpful,” Leach said. Especially the upperclassmen were really open to us and brought us into the team.”
“It was a big role and something I had to work on mentally,” Leach added. “I think physically I was good enough to be there, but mentally I had some growing up to do.”
In her freshman season, Leach started all 32 matches and recorded the third most block assists for a freshman in school history with 91 and also posted 229 kills.
NEW POSITION, NEW CHALLENGE
In her sophomore year Leach tallied 264 kills as a middle blocker, but soon would face a new test.
Her junior season the Hoosiers brought in a new middle blocker and Leach was asked to play as a right-side hitter.
When asked to learn a new position, some people might be hesitant, but Leach embraced the challenge.
Dunbar said when presented to Leach, her student-athlete was all about doing whatever needed to be done to help the team be successful.
“She has always been very agreeable to wanting to learn more about different things and do whatever she could to help the team,” Dunbar said.”
That season, Leach did not miss a beat and produced her most successful year to that point as she led the Hoosiers with 313 kills.
THE ULTIMATE TEAM PLAYER
“She has always been about the team,” Dunbar said about Leach. “When we talked at the beginning of her senior season it was about how she could help the team and the program. She acts like one of the players and wants to lead by example.”
Dunbar said that in addition to providing encouragement to her teammates, Leach has taken the next step and has become another coach on the floor.
“I think that’s the sign of a mature player that they are coaching themselves and coaching other players, in a positive way and helping them get better,” Dunbar said. “That is a big positive for a program to have that because it shows they are engaged and willing to help their teammates.”
On the court Leach said she tries to be a presence with her voice and her play and although she is not a captain on the team this year she is having a great influence on her teammates.
“She has been the one to give me confidence,” freshman Jessica Leish said. “Even when I make a mistake she is always there to help me with what I can fix and making me feel better to go up for the next one.”
GROWTH AS A PLAYER AND A PERSON AND INFLUENCE ON OTHERS
Leach will be quick to point out she has grown significantly over the last four years, on and off the court.
“As a player I feel like I’ve grown tremendously,” Leach said. “I am comfortable in almost any position in the front row. I think I can be a leader more on the court with the way I play.”
“As a person I’ve grown a lot,” Leach continued. “I used to not even be able to talk in interviews because I was so scared. We have dealt with adversity through the years, but continuing to come in and battle and work hard is something I’ve gotten a lot better at.”
Sophomore Mallory Waggoner joined the team not long before the start of this season, but said Leach helped her a lot in her transition.
“Her influence on the team is second to none,” Waggoner said. “She brings a vibe to the court where you want to be on her side and in her success with her. Off the court she is a role model to me because she helped me in my transition and she works so hard.”
Junior Amelia Anderson, who said she plans to keep in touch with Leach and have her in her wedding, said Leach has helped her tremendously.
“Morgan has taught me everything I know and has been the one person I’ve looked up to since I’ve been here,” Anderson said. “I’ll remember all the times we have had, good and bad, on and off the court, we have done a lot of fun things together and she is my best friend here.”
LIFE OFF THE COURT
In her free time Leach can be found in the kitchen, where she loves to cook and try new foods, most recently, zucchini fritters. She also enjoys crafting projects and making new things out of old objects, such as a dresser she painted and refurnished.
Leach also enjoys traveling and went to Mexico with Anderson last year, where the two went snorkeling for the first time, an experience they each said they would never forget.
For the holiday break, Leach is visiting a friend and former IU student-athlete, who just completed a study abroad semester in Budapest, Hungary. Leach and her friend are planning to tour Europe, with stops in Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Norway and Amsterdam.
FUTURE PLANS
Leach will graduate with a degree in sports marketing and management this spring and has taken numerous proactive steps towards her desired professional career.
Leach would like to work in marketing for a professional sports organization. Last summer she interned for the IU athletics marketing department and this semester has worked with Athlete Network, a networking website for student-athletes, connecting them with alumni and current athletes. Leach has put her excellent work ethic into the venture and is among the top 20 percent out of 250 student-athletes working for Athlete Network.
“I’m going to miss her a lot, just as a person,” Dunbar said. “We have always had a good respectful relationship and I hope that continues after college and I can help her in the next step in her life.”
LEAVING A LEGACY
In her first season at IU the team won just one conference match. The next year four and her junior season one. In her final year, so far, the Hoosiers have achieved six conference victories.
Although she would have like to experience more success, both Leach and Dunbar agree that Leach has left a lasting legacy and is leaving the program in a better place than when she set foot on campus.
“From everything that I’ve learned and taken from this experience, I’m very happy and proud of it,” Leach said. “I feel like I’ve influenced a lot of people and teammates around me. If they can use that to succeed in the future I’ll be happy and satisfied that I did my job.”
“I’m happy for the place we are at,” she added. “I feel like the team is in a really good place with me leaving as so many juniors going to be stepping up. The program is headed in the right direction. We have made incredible strides this year and our team chemistry is amazing.”
“Morgan helped this program get back to being a relevant program and I feel like she has helped jumpstart us into great things for the future. She has been a leader in so many ways and her teammates have looked up to her and that legacy will carry on in the coming years.”
Leading up to senior night on Saturday against Illinois Leach’s teammates were asked several questions, including what would come to mind when they see Morgan down the road at alumni reunions.
Some joked about her clumsiness, which Leach acknowledged has always been a problem. Most said they plan to stay in touch and thanked Leach for all she has done for the program and being a great friend and teammate.
“I don’t know, to be honest,” sophomore Makayla Lundin said when asked her first thought when she sees Leach again. “I’ll just want to run up and give her a big hug.”
