There’s something about digging that has long attracted Morgan Martin. It suits both her long-term career goal (archaeologist) and the one she hopes to pursue after graduating in May (beach volleyball professional).
But beginning today, Martin is focused on digging in for her senior season, which opens with the Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic at Queen’s Beach. The fifth-ranked Rainbow Wahine look to end a five-match dual skid against No. 1 UCLA in today’s 9 a.m. contest and Martin a three-match personal slide against the Bruins.
Losing — anytime — is incentive enough to change the trend. That her father, Wally, played on four NCAA championship teams at UCLA (1981-84) is not a factor.
“It’s just another team to beat,” Martin said. “That they are the two-time champions is going to make it sweeter.”
What she would like to emulate is her father’s success, winning a national title. Hawaii, one of just five programs to make all four NCAA tournaments, has two third-place finishes to go along with the fourth-place showings of 2016 and 2019.
“This year we’re physically stronger, we’ve put in a lot of extra work as a team,” said Martin, an All-American and Big West Freshman of the Year in 2017. “Mentally we’re stronger because our standards have been raised. Coach (Ari) Homayan and our team captains have raised the standard.”
Homayun, the program’s all-time wins leader, is in her first year as volunteer assistant. Martin is one of the captains along with senior Amy Ozee and redshirt junior Regan Hurkett.
“Morgan has always been a leader, but now it’s an official leadership role,” SandBows coach Jeff Hall said. “She came in with such a great work ethic and it surprised me that her growth continues to be in that work ethic. Every year she has worked even harder than the last.
“She comes in early to work on blocking drills, she has taken some of the girls down (to Queen’s) to work on things. She’s such a great teammate, leads by example. No one works harder.”
It has translated to success where she came in such a great product. Martin ranks fourth all-time in dual wins (84), sixth overall in victories (86), this coming with three different partners.
She and sophomore Pani Napoleon are expected to be paired for a second season. Last year they won their first 20 matches together, not dropping a set while setting a program-record with 40 consecutive sets won.
“She’s one of the best blockers I’ve ever seen,” Napoleon said of Martin. “She’s improved on that, comes out early just to work on it. She’s a really smart player.”
Something the 6-foot-1 Martin also excels at is “optioning” or attacking the ball on second contact. It’s a tactic that graduate student Harlee Kekauoha, who played last fall on the UC Irvine team, has picked up.
“She told me, ‘I really like your optioning, good job,’ ” Kekauoha said. “I thanked her and said, ‘I’ve been watching you.’ ”
Martin had plenty of playing options coming out of Capistrano Valley (Calif.) High as a high school beach All-American. She and Stanford indoor All-American Kathryn Plummer, the two-time National Player of the Year, teamed to win gold in the inaugural FIVB U17 Beach Volleyball World Championship in 2014.
Her recruiting trip was a whirlwind 48-hour visit, where she “fell in love with the island, the mountains, the campus,” Martin said. “After two days, I decided I could be here for four years. I was right.”
The four years have gone quickly. Martin is finishing up her dual degree in anthropology and English.
Graduation, just like the close of her collegiate career, is coming at her fast. If Hawaii again makes it to the NCAA tournament, both will happen in May.
After that? A pro beach career and then “I’ll still be digging,” the future archaeologist said.
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OUTRIGGER DUKE KAHANAMOKU BEACH CLASSIC
At Queen’s Beach
Today
>> No. 1 UCLA (1-0) at No. 5 Hawaii (0-0), 9 a.m.
>> No. 3 LSU (0-0) vs. No. 19 Stanford (0-0), 10:30 a.m.
>> Stanford at Hawaii, noon
>> UCLA vs. LSU, 1:30 p.m.
>> UCLA vs. Stanford, 3 p.m.
>> LSU at Hawaii, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday
>> Semifinals, 10:30 a.m. and noon
>> Third place, 1:30 p.m.
>> Championship, 3 p.m.
Radio/TV: None
Live scoring: Hawaiiathletics.com
Series: Hawaii trails UCLA 8-6, leads Stanford 6-0, leads LSU 2-1
