TQL former college athletes spotlight: Olivia and Liv
Being a college athlete takes hard work and determination, and Total Quality Logistics counts many of these standouts as team members. We share their stories in this new feature.
Playing volleyball at Morehead State was one of the best experiences Olivia L. and Liv M. have ever had.
The two Olivias – former Eagles teammates and current TQL coworkers – propelled the team to unprecedented heights in the spring of 2021. Morehead State went 17-2 (15-1 Ohio Valley Conference), won regular-season and conference tournament championships and clinched an NCAA Tournament bid.
The Eagles defeated Creighton in a thriller in Omaha, the Big East champions’ home, for a program-first NCAA Tournament victory.
“Until the day that I die, that might be the coolest thing that has ever happened to me,” said Liv M., a four-year defensive specialist.
Olivia L., an outside hitter and Honorable Mention All-American, was thrilled with the way Morehead State responded in the grueling five-set match. The Eagles weren’t intimidated by a team receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll.
“I remember being exhausted by the end. Looking at my teammates, I was like, ‘They’re not giving up. I’m not giving up either,’” Olivia L. said. She contributed a team-high-tying 17 kills.
Although the season ended with a second-round loss to No. 8 seed Florida, the Eagles finished with a program-best .895 winning percentage and became the first OVC program to appear in the national coaches’ poll.
Liv M., who recorded more than 1,000 career digs, said the team focused on improving even as COVID left college athletics in limbo in 2020. When the Eagles returned to action, they underwent weekly testing and wore cumbersome masks during practice and matches.
Still, Morehead State players united to pursue their lofty aspirations.
“Everything that happened with COVID made us appreciate how much we really loved volleyball. It brought us all back to the same goal, and that’s to put Morehead State volleyball on the map. And we were able to do that,” Olivia L. said.
Liv M. considered using a fifth season of eligibility afforded by COVID after the historic campaign but decided to pursue her professional goals instead.
She underwent surgery to repair her shoulder after graduation and started her a career at TQL, a company for which she had interned multiple times. She has been a Recruitment Marketing Specialist since the spring of 2021.
Olivia L., a TQL Business Intelligence Analyst, exercised her COVID year of free eligibility and returned to the Eagles for a fifth season. The First Team, All-OVC selection ended the campaign with 1,989 career kills, good for second all-time at Morehead State and third in the OVC.
Today, Olivia L. channels her competitiveness into working with her TQL team to achieve results. The elite-level work ethic she perfected in college has been part of her success.
That’s the thing about playing college volleyball, Liv M. said. It taught her so many things about herself.
“I think I have learned 100% of the good qualities I have from playing sports in college,” Liv M. said, pointing to discipline and her drive to succeed. “Volleyball has morphed me into the person I am today with a level of resilience I never expected I could have.”
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