Grad transfer and former Illinois defensive specialist Morgan O’Brien set to join Texas Longhorns for 2020.
Texas Volleyball and head coach Jerritt Elliott are excited to announce the addition of graduate student transfer, Morgan O'Brien, a Libertyville, Illinois native.
"Morgan brings experience and talent to our libero position," Elliott said of the addition. "She will compete from day one and make our back court exciting to watch and tough to compete against."
"I chose to come to Texas because I knew that it would be a great place to challenge me academically, while working on my masters," O'Brien said of her decision to continue her academic and athletic career at the University of Texas. "I am really excited to train and compete with a group of people that share the same passion for volleyball as me."
In her Illini career, O'Brien played in 94 matches over three seasons, racking up 1,202 digs, a 3.41 per set average. She also has a career total of 265 assists and 79 aces. O'Brien recorded two Big 10 Defensive Player of the Week honors over her Illini career, and in her sophomore season she turned in a career-high 32 digs - tying for seventh-most in a single match in Illinois program history in a win at No. 9 Nebraska (10/27/18).
During Illinois' 2018 National Semifinal run, O'Brien was the mainstay at libero and started all 36 matches. She registered a team-high 571 digs for a 4.33 digs per set average, while also posting 28 service aces in her most productive season to date.
In May, O'Brien graduated from Illinois, earning her Bachelor of Science in community health in just three years. During that time, she has earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors and Academic All-Big Ten honors as well. At the University of Texas, O'Brien will be pursuing her masters of health behaviors and health education.
The Longhorns also signed Melanie Parra, a native of Sinaloa, Mexico, and Adhuoljok Malual, a native of Roma, Italy. Due to COVID-19 causing travel difficulties, both will join the Longhorns in the 2021 spring semester.