Saginaw valley state getting more than a volleyball player in chesterton senior Marissa roe

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

Not all athletes fortunate enough to put pen to paper for a signing ceremony announcing where they will continue competing in college were natural athletes at a young age.
“When I tried out in fourth grade, I felt this was the sport I want to do when I grow up,” Roe said during the season. “I was not good at it right away. It was just a heartfelt connection I had with the sport. … As a child, I was not very coordinated or very good at any sports. I tried out for T-ball, basketball, soccer, volleyball. But I really only felt a connection to volleyball.”
Roe first envisioned herself playing volleyball for the Trojans watching her aunt Ari Mahaffey, a 2013 Chesterton High graduate who played at Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio.
Roe became so good at it in time that she was a four-year starter at Chesterton, an All-DAC selection as a senior and will play at Saginaw Valley State in Michigan.
Volleyball has been Roe’s only high school sport, but not all of her contributions on match night came within the boundaries of the court.
For the final three years of her career, Roe could be spotted after home matches, walking up and down the bleachers, picking up trash.
Why?
“I feel really bad for the janitors having to clean that up and I know it’s a pain,” she said. “And I just don’t like seeing all the trash over there on our home court, and I want to keep it clean.”
Think Saginaw Valley State is getting a team player?
“I’m so looking forward to it,” Roe said. “I’m excited to graduate and go onto the next four years of my life in Michigan.”
Roe set the school records for blocks at Chesterton and also has contributed to the boys team as a manager. She is in her second year as a captain for the Japanese Olympiad club, has a 4.2 GPA and volunteers at the Westchester Food Pantry.
She is doing everything she can to put herself in the best position possible to compete for immediate playing time.
“I’m playing club, doing private lessons, working out, all that good stuff,” she said.