All around star

When Marlee Johnson walked into the gym for the first time as a freshman, she may not have known what was to come, but her new coach, Kellye Bowen, had a pretty good idea.

Bowen took over the Spain Park High School volleyball program three years ago and immediately found a player that she would rely on for the next four seasons.

Johnson emerged as an on-court leader from the get-go. In her first two high school seasons, she played primarily in the middle before transitioning to the outside last fall as a junior. That proved no obstacle, as she put together a dominant season, punishing many opponents with her ability to put the ball down with precision.

She also has ice water running through her veins, apparently. She gets better in crunch time, when most players fold.

“She’s dominating,” Bowen said. “She takes over a game. A lot of people don’t like it when the game’s on the line, ball in their hand. But she’s very, very good. When she’s back there serving and it’s 15-15, my heart’s not racing.”

Bowen expects Johnson’s senior season to be no different in regard to her performance. She’s been a steadying force since that first day in the program.

“Ever since she walked into the gym her ninth-grade year, she’s not had an off day,” Bowen said.

Johnson is the poster child for what Bowen aims to produce. She is a polished product, on and off the court. She’s a stud on the court and a superstar in the classroom.

On the court, Johnson has a steely gaze, one that contains an intense focus on the task at hand. Once that task is completed and she finishes a big point with a kill, she erupts. 

Off the court, Johnson is unassuming, She’s quick to pump up the only other senior on the team — setter Caroline Horton — and speak highly of the promise the younger players have.

One player she’s not particularly fond of discussing is herself.  She downplays her power on the outside, but Bowen has no shortage of belief in her senior.

“She’s one of the best, if not the best, six-rotations outside hitters in the state,” Bowen said.

Johnson has always commanded respect from her teammates as well, even in her early days of high school.

“I was two years older than her and I looked up to her,” said Abby Horton, a former player and now the junior varsity coach at Spain Park. 

As impressive of a volleyball player as Johnson is, she might be even better with her books. She seems almost apologetic for achieving a score of 34 on her ACT, so as not to sound boastful. She holds a 4.1 GPA and jokes that, “I’m kind of weird and I actually like school.”

“Marlee is the type of kid you want all your players to be like,” Bowen said. “She’s a very good role model for all the players that I have…She strives to be the best, in the classroom, on the court and she’s going to be very successful in life.”

Johnson has always understood the value of academics, knowing that a solid education opens up possibilities long after her volleyball career concludes. That’s why she settled on Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, an NCAA Division II school.

She was able to secure both academic and athletic scholarship money to go to Rollins, a school that competes in the Sunshine State Conference.

Choosing Rollins wasn’t what Johnson expected at the outset of her quest to find a college home, but it checked off two major boxes for her.

“I wanted to go to school somewhere where it was hot, but I also wanted to go to a liberal arts type school, and I had no idea where I wanted to go,” Johnson said.

Rollins came up in conversation due to it having a waterski program. Johnson’s stepfather happens to be a competitive water-skier, and it was suggested that Johnson visit the campus.

She originally wasn’t going to take a visit, but happened to have an extra day in Orlando while at the AAU volleyball national tournament in June 2016. So Johnson made the short trip to Rollins and instantly fell in love. 

“It was the first campus I actually took a visit to, and I loved it,” Johnson said.

Johnson admitted that she played along and visited other campuses, even though she had a pretty solid idea that Rollins was the place for her. She has no doubt that she made the right choice.

When bringing up the fact that she will be able to continue playing competitive volleyball beyond high school, a big grin emerges.

“It’s so exciting,” she said. “I’ve worked for this for five years. This has been my dream. And I haven’t been able to stop smiling. It’s really cool.”

Johnson still has goals for this year. The Jags have improved each season since she has been on the team, and now they are aiming to take the next step. 

“I want to get to state,” she said.

But she’s taking that staircase one step at a time. The Jags compete with Mountain Brook, Oak Mountain and Huffman in a tough area, and only the top two can advance to super regionals. 

Bowen knows that Johnson will do everything in her power to help take the team as far as it can go. But one thing is for sure.

“She has really, really, really set the tone for Spain Park volleyball: what the demands are, expectations,” Bowen said. “She’s a very good role model for all the players.”