By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
When she started playing volleyball in the third grade, Morgan Hentz had no idea the sport would become her livelihood. Over the last five months, the Notre Dame Academy graduate has been a starting libero for the Atlanta Vibe, one of 14 teams in the Pro Volleyball Federation’s inaugural season.
The minimum salary for players in the league is $60,000. The team that wins next week’s championship tournament will split a $1 million bonus, and the Vibe is seeded No. 1 among the four contenders for that grand prize.
No matter what happens in the tournament, Hentz, 26, already has a claim to fame as one of the original players in the biggest women’s professional volleyball league ever formed in the United States.
“It is really cool,” she said. “That’s something down the line I’ll reflect upon and really take in fully, but right now we’re just more focused on taking it one game at a time.”
Atlanta finished the regular season with the best record (19-5) to earn the top seed in the PVF championship tournament to be played Wednesday and Saturday in Omaha, Neb. The Vibe’s semifinal opponent will be No. 4 seed San Diego Mojo (12-11) at 7 p.m. Wednesday on the CBS Sports Network.
After her team’s last regular season match on May 2, Hentz spent a week in California training with the USA Volleyball women’s national team. On Friday, she boarded a flight to Atlanta and got to practice with her Vibe teammates before heading to the championship tournament.
“I’m nervous and excited,” she said. “That’s usually how I am going into every single game, so it’s nothing new. I’m just really excited for the potential of this league and for women’s volleyball in the United States. I just hope we put forward a great product for all the fans to come out and watch.”
Hentz has an impressive resume that begins with her being named 2015 Player of the Year in Kentucky high school volleyball after her senior season at Notre Dame. She was recruited by Stanford University and played on three NCAA Division I championship teams there to earn first-team All-America status.
After college, Hentz started her professional career in Germany in 2020-21, but the worldwide pandemic disrupted that season. She spent the last two years with Athletes Unlimited, a unique U.S. pro league where players switch teams during a five-week season.
This is Hentz’s third year as a member of the USA Volleyball national team that’s going to the 2024 Summer Olympics. She is one of three liberos on the roster, but she doesn’t have as much international experience as the other two.
”Typically, only one libero is taken to the Olympics,” she said. “It’s going to be a long shot for me, but I’m grateful to be training with some of the best in the world.”
When the PVF was launched in January, it offered Hentz a chance to compete in a full season of professional volleyball in her own country. She often had family members and friends at Vibe matches during the regular season.
“It’s been a wonderful ride so far,” she said. “I’m really grateful to be able to stay in the United States and play near family and friends. And it’s been really cool to see all the support we’ve gotten throughout this season.”
As a back-row defensive player for the Atlanta team, Hentz leads the league with 371 digs in 89 sets and is the only player averaging more than four per set (4.19). According to league statistics, her reception passes have been 57 percent positive and 28 percent perfect based on what her team’s setter was able to do with them.
Her exceptional defensive play during the regular season is one reason the Vibe is seeded No. 1 among the four teams in the championship tournament that will close out the historic season.
“I feel like it was inevitable at some point,” she said of the pro league’s debut. “Women’s volleyball is one of the most popular sports in the United States and it was only a matter of time. I’m really grateful that it’s coming around now. I don’t know if it would’ve been the right fit for me to keep playing abroad, so I’m really glad to have the opportunity to keep playing professionally here in the states.”