« Volleyball 2011

Tarah Murrey

School
California
Position
Outside Hitter
K
438
Pct
.211
SA
19
BS
16
BA
38
D
341

Classroom

In each of the two seasons that she’s been eligitble, Murrey has a Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention for having a GPA above 3.0 and being either a
starter or significant contributor.

Character

Murrey has shouldered her team as its leader. Never one to need pressure from outside sources - teammates or coaches - she is motivated to perform to the best of her abilities so that her team can succeed.

Community

Murrey has shown a real interest in giving back to the community, participating in multiple events put on by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. During the fall, she is one of the student-athletes who helps with the Come to College Day. At that event, Murrey and her fellow Bears offer one-on-one instruction and leading interactive games. She also joined the Cal Athletics family by fundraising and participating in the Jog for Jill. The 5K fun runs in Golden Gate Park and on the Berkeley campus raised funds and awareness for lung cancer in honor of former Cal student-athlete Jill Costello, who lost her battle to Stage IV lung cancer a year after being diagnosed despite never being a smoker. Growing up literally down the street from the Cal campus, Murrey has always made it a point to be a leader in her community.

Competition

A starter from her days as a freshman, Murrey has been a key cog in the California volleyball machine. As a freshman in 2008, Murray earned Pac-10 All-Freshman Team honors after ranking third on the team in total kills. She was an all-conference honorable mention the next year after reaching double
digit kills in 19 matches and double digit digs in 12 matches. Over the summer of 2009, she helped lead the USA A2 Blue Team to a bronze medal at
the 2009 USA Adult Open Volleyball Championships in Indianapolis. This past fall, Murrey had her very best season of volleyball to date as she helped
power the Bears to the national championship game. Earning first-team AVCA All-American and All-Pacific Region Team honors, she was also placed on the
All-Pac-10 team and made the NCAA Division I All-Championship and Seattle All-Regional teams. She produced the third highest single-season record for
kills with 617 and had the second-highest output in a single season for attacks with 1,454. Her 5.23 kills per set ranked her first on the squad, second in the Pac-10 and third in the nation. She further asserted herself into the top ranks of USA Volleyball for she led the USA A2 Blue Team to the gold medal at the 2010 USA Adult Open Volleyball Championships in Phoenix. In May of 2011, Murrey earned another USA Volleyball title when she led the brigade of the USA A2 Blue squad in Dallas. Well deserving of her newly lauded match MVP title, Murrey’s Blue team defeated USA A2 Red, 26-24, in the double final title match of the 2011 USA Volleyball Open National Championships Women’s Open Division to complete a comeback through the consolation round.