Tafuna's
Sataeria Mariner gets 4-year volleyball scholarship
by Brian Vitolio
The 2007-08 ASHSAA
girls' varsity volleyball MVP is taking her game and her hopes
for the future to Stephenville, Texas to attend Tarleton State
University on a 4-year scholarship.
Yesterday, at
Tafuna High School's main office, a small ceremony was held where
Sotaeria and her father, Ropati Mariner, inked documents sent
by the school stating that she will attend Tarleton State U.
on a 4-year scholarship.
Her mother Valisa
was also on hand to witness the signing as well as her varsity
coach for the last two years Letoa Rod Atafua, 12th grade counselor
Maga Maupati and Tafuna High School principal Lemoe Tinoisamoa.
"First of
all I would like to thank God for giving me an opportunity such
as this," Sotaeria said. "And I'm just glad that my
parents are here by my side to witness this blessing."
"I'm actually
glad I got this scholarship because this is going to help my
parents financially," Sotaeria added. She intends to major
in sociology.
After the conclusion
of last year's volleyball season in which she helped her team
win the championship, Sotaeria's father Ropati set about attaining
a scholarship for his daughter, just as he did for his other
daughter Christabell, a Tafuna graduate of 1999.
He helped her
get a 4-year ride to Eastern New Mexico State University, where
she got a BA in mathematics.
So, during Sotaeria's
final year in high school, Ropati was seen videotaping his daughter's
games and he used those game tapes to attract offers from six
schools.
They were University
of Hawaii, BYU-Hawaii, Long Beach State University, Georgia State,
Stanford University and Tarleton. The latter was the first school
to reply, indicating before Christmas that they were interested
and then sent a confirmation letter in February to Ropati Mariner.
He, his wife
Valisa and their daughter jumped at it when first contacted by
the school because of one reason, Christabell is an assistant
coach for the women's volleyball team.
Christabell was
a student coach for the women's team for two years while going
after her master in PE & Health, and last year was her first
as a full time assistant.
"The main
thing to us as parents was for her to go to a school with a familiar
face around, and that belongs to her older sister," Mariner
explained. "So we are very happy with that."
They are known
as the Texans, or TexAnns for women's sports and are part of
the Lone Star Conference, an affiliate of the NCAA Division II.
"It was
my first choice because of my sister being there and it will
make it more comfortable for me," Sotaeria explained. But
she will be staying in the school dorms because school rules
prohibit players from living with the schools staff, even if
they are related, according to Sotaeria.
"Sotaeria
played a very important role as a middle blocker for our team
the last two years," said her coach Letoa Rod Atafua. "She
is a very athletic and outstanding player, and that position
she played is very important both defensively and offensively
and she performed very well in it.
"I'm thankful
to the parents because they put a lot of time and effort into
training with her," continued Letoa. "I'm pretty sure
she's going to do good because she is a very bright student and
it's been a pleasure to coach her the last two years."
Mariner said
that he and his wife are former volleyball players themselves
and have been involved in it for a very long time.
"I was her
junior varsity coach for two years before she went up to the
varsity division," Mariner recalled. "Every day after
practice we would go home and train some more or work on things
that I saw she needed to improve on."
He is still helping
her stay fit as they train three times a week with the help of
a training regimen sent by the school.
"I have
her running, weight lifting and putting her through drills to
keep up with her hitting, passing and serving," Mariner
said. "Also if there are leagues I push her to go and play
and compete in those."
Mariner said
that his wife Valisa take Sotaeria up on June 17 so that she
can attend the school's summer session, way before the time that
she has to report to the school which is August.
Sotaeria said
that she is keeping her eye on her future because if she wants
to be successful and also benefit her family in a good way, then
furthering her education is the way to go. But she can also
have fun along the way by playing the sport she loves the best,
volleyball.
Reach the
reporter at sports@samoanews.com.
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