Tiffany Oliver — Morgan Senior and Speech Communications Major is vying for the U.S. Olympic Volleyball team.
Last season, Tiffany Oliver, middle blocker for MSU's Lady Bears Volleyball Team, made 1st Team All-MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) and led the squad in total blocks (138) and hitting percentage (.283). She had a very good season. Then came the quintessential "icing on the cake." The Morgan senior earned a spot on the USA Volleyball Women's A2 Team Roster, a squad composed of the 20 top collegiate and club players in the country. She is the first player from a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) to make the squad. During the month of July, Oliver participated in the rigorous, two-week, USA Volleyball Program at the United States Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, N.Y. One of three African Americans at the training camp, she was also the only MEAC athlete on the squad. As reported on www.morganstatebears.com, Tom Pringle, USA Volleyball's Director of High Performance National Programs, said, "This year's team is bigger and will probably be a more competitive group than what we have had in past years." According to Pringle, the group
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trained for "potential consideration for the Olympic Games next year and the World University and/or Pan American Games in the future." Of the squad's 20 players, only 13 made it through the intense U.S. Olympic training course. As one of the few to attend all practice sessions, Oliver came through with flying colors. Oliver, a speech communications major, transferred to Morgan from the University of Nevada–Reno, after one season. A native of Merced, Calif., she says she chose Morgan because, "I wanted to attend a college with people who looked like me." Voted Team Most Valuable Player (MVP), Oliver was surprised to receive the award. She expected it to go to one of her teammates. Her goal for this season is for the Lady Bears to win the MEAC championship. After two years in the runner-up spot, the hard-playing, 6-foot-2-inch senior is determined to help her team regain the championship before she graduates. She is a team player. And, although her sights are set on the U.S Olympic Volleyball Team, her focus, right now, is on the Lady Bears.
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