TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Maclay Marauder volleyball team was fueled by one thing this off season, last year's loss in the Elite Eight of the State Tournament.
The Marauders returned nearly everyone off last year's squad, and entered this season feeling pretty good about their chances at a State title.
"I can look at a person, and just know automatically and know they're going to do something," said senior Mary Frances Daniel about the closeness of this team. Most of them have been together since middle school.
"There's a lot of pressure," she said. "I feel that it's not as much as I had when I was younger, because I felt like I had to perform to be great."
"She comes in every day, and works really, really hard," said head coach Erica Bunch. "That's every coaches dream, you know? You want your whole squad to come in ready to go and just push really hard."
How hard has she pushed? Mary Frances reached 1000 career digs last month,
"I tell my liberos that's their job. You get down and dirty, you're the vacuum cleaner of the team," laughed Bunch.
She's cleaning up in the classroom too- boasting a 4.36 GPA.
"Practice makes perfect. So many math problems, so many chemistry problems," she said of maintaining her academics. "Staying up until 1:00 in the morning, it stinks the next day, but you make the best grades you can make. They always say practice makes perfect."
Perfect in the classroom, and if Mary Frances has it her way, a perfect ending on the court in her senior year.
