Serving It Up Again: FSU Player Returns to the Court
posted by Areanna Nixon | September 8, 2016 | In SportsYou’d think that for the mother of a 5-month-old daughter, and the wife of a constantly moving professional football player, playing a college game would seem to be the last thing on her mind. But despite the unique struggles Leah Mackley Reed has faced, volleyball remains at the forefront of her life.
“I was ecstatic for him, because that’s an amazing accomplishment! Especially coming from a Division two school,” Reed said of the emotion she felt as her husband, Marcus Reed entered the NFL, and then went on to join other professional teams across the U.S. “I decided to move with him so he could pursue his dreams.”
But Reed later resolved to finish what had been such a large part of her own life since age 4.
“I grew up in a tiny tiny town called Burgaw. I tell people I’m from Wilmington because they’ve heard of it,” she said with a smile on her face. “I’ve played sports my whole life.”
Leah Reed participated in five sports in high school, and was honored as North Carolina Female Athlete of the Year in 2009. She also attended 8 state championships, winning twice. And so she is no stranger to achievement.
Still, she felt incomplete regarding her college career. She realized: “This is my last hoorah of athletics before entering adulthood.”
“I wasn’t going to come back, because I had a really hard year,” said Reed, recounting her season of college volleyball in 2014, where she nursed an Achilles injury. This factor, along with her new family responsibilities, gave her no logical reason to return.
“And then something just hit me; I tell coach it was God,” she said. A casual word with a friend resonated with Reed: “We were talking about high school volleyball and I was like: I really want to come back.” This new feeling, in itself, was surprising for her. “I had never felt that way throughout the whole year of football,” she emphasized.
“I was a new mom, I was out of shape, I hadn’t done anything active throughout my entire pregnancy; it was hard coming back,” she said. Despite the struggle, “Coach welcomed me back with open arms.”
The 24-year-old senior has her work cut out for her, but her return marks a revival for the women’s volleyball team, being that she played an extremely important role as setter.
“I think they were missing a key piece without her, the team definitely missed her,” remarked Lamont Hinson, sports information director of FSU.
Leah ranked second in the conference for assists per set, and received All-CIAA honors during the 2014 season, the year in which the Lady Broncos advanced to the CIAA Volleyball Championship. With the lady broncos projected to finish third in the conference, the return of Leah Mackley Reed could mean so much more.
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