Mel Rice first stepped foot on the volleyball court with a push from her dad.
“My dad, of all people, was like, ‘Your aunt needs an extra player on her travel team, I think you should do this, ‘” said the Galena senior.
He continued to cheer on Mel as she developed into a four-year varsity starter for Galena.
“She likes to win,” said Galena Head Volleyball Coach Joe Miller. “Sometimes I tell her to dial it down a little, but once she puts her foot on the court, that goes out the window. I could bring a group of kindergartners to play us, and she would want to beat the tar out of them.”
She took one trip to the final four and finished her junior year with Missouri’s second-best single-season record in kills.
“I mean, she’s irreplaceable,” Miller said. What she has done the last couple of years, there’s no doubt that we don’t go to the final four two years ago, we don’t win districts three years in a row without her contributions.”
As she chases 1500 career kills, there is a missing piece in the stands. Right before Christmas, Rice’s dad passed away from cancer of the esophagus.
“That did impact my life a lot,” Rice said. “But with playing this year, I do have a want to succeed a lot more than what I did in the past. Going out and playing volleyball has helped so much. It’s like a home to me and a stress reliever.”
His cheers and words of advice still stick with her.
“His main thing was ‘over and in’, like when I was back and serving [he would say] ‘over and in’,” Rice said.
On game days, she has a little reminder of him beyond just the thoughts of what he said, but rather through the bible verse 4:13 written on her shoes. He was once the one pushing her to try volleyball, but now he takes every step with her on the court.
“I always knew he was so proud,” Mel said.
