Post by bigfan on Nov 30, 2006 11:14:27 GMT -5
Lifetime friends arrive at USC side by side
Asia Kaczor and Marta Seimiatkowska, outside hitters on the USC women's volleyball team, are inseparable off the court.
Alex Lebow
Media Credit: Steevens Alconcel | Daily Trojan
Asia Kaczor.
While the name "Marsha" appears nowhere on the roster of the 2006 USC women's volleyball team, "she" is a junior transfer from the College of Southern Idaho, a native of Poland, and to say the least, a root of success for one of best volleyball teams in the nation.
Yet in order to meet this "Marsha" character, one must actually be in the presence of two members of the volleyball team, juniors Asia Kaczor and Marta Siemiatkowska.
The nickname "Marsha" originated early in the 2006 season as it proved to be the easiest way to catch the attention of the two women with last names that always trouble the average English speaker.
"They're just always together," senior co-captain setter Kimi Freeburg said. "They sort of come as a unit, so we named them as a unit. (USC coach Mick Haley) used to mix up the names, and that's where the nickname came from."
While outside hitter Joanna "Asia" Kaczor (pronounced AH-shuh- KAHK-chor) and middle blocker Marta Siemiatkowska (MART-tuh-sha-mee-uht-KOW-ska) have had separate experiences on the court this season, their unique friendship has grown even deeper.
"We're like sisters," Kaczor said.
Some siblings might find it hard to be constantly supportive, but for the women from across the world, it never seems to be a problem.
"They live together, they eat lunch together, they even order the same thing," junior outside hitter Diane Copenhagen said. "On road trips, one will even pick lunch one day and the other will pick lunch on the other day. It's just funny when you notice it."
Upon arrival at USC, Asia and Marta were already in the habit of winning side by side. As youngsters in Poland, the duo played opposite each other in grammar school, despite living two hours away. Nine years have passed since their friendship began when they were teammates on the Polish Junior National Team.
Although "Marsha" did not yet exist in 2005, Asia and Marta were members of the Golden Eagle volleyball team that went 50-2 and won the 2005 National Junior College Athletic Association national championship. As a freshman in 2005, Kaczor earned NJCAA Player of the Year honors, and as a sophomore, Siemiatkowska recorded 267 kills and led the team in blocks.
Traditionally, the College of Southern Idaho has been the stepping stone for women with the ultimate goal of playing Division I volleyball. While Marta arrived in Idaho a year before Asia, they naturally agreed to call Southern California home after graduating from junior college.
"The relationship with the coaches was very good," Siemiatkowska said. "Mick was very helpful, plus the entire school, the atmosphere, the educational level and the beaches helped us make our decision."
Even as best friends, some minor competition exists in the life of "Marsha."
"In the gym it's so fun to watch Marta block Asia and then watch Marta do this little dance in Asia's face; it fires her right up," Freeburg said.
Up to this point, Asia has played in all 103 games, while Marta has seen action in just 12. As Kaczor leads the Women of Troy in offensive categories such as average kills per game (4.96) and average hitting percentage (.307), Marta's statistical contributions have continued to increase.
"We're doing a really good job, but I'm not talking about myself, this is a team sport," Kaczor said. "It is great to see Marta out there. I just love to have her on the court. I'm just trying to help her as much as I can, I think she's doing great and she can do so much more."
This unique friendship reaches much deeper than just the volleyball court, into the classroom and beyond. Good academic standing matters for the pair of psychology majors.
"We're not going to play volleyball forever, so we have to think about our education, too," Siemiatkowska said. "We try never to bring the relationship between us on the court; what's on the court stays on the court. We always try to help each other."
Whether they're warming up together prior to a match, studying for the next test, or just finding time to enjoy this new place, "Marsha" is having fun as one.
"Everybody who knows about Marsha calls us that," Siemiatkowska said. "We're always together and the funniest thing is when people ask us a question we answer exactly the same way, word by word, people always laugh."
When the Women of Troy open the NCAA tournament tonight against Ole Miss, the program will not list "Marsha," but that's because she's out there soaking up her time in cardinal and gold.
Asia Kaczor and Marta Seimiatkowska, outside hitters on the USC women's volleyball team, are inseparable off the court.
Alex Lebow
Media Credit: Steevens Alconcel | Daily Trojan
Asia Kaczor.
While the name "Marsha" appears nowhere on the roster of the 2006 USC women's volleyball team, "she" is a junior transfer from the College of Southern Idaho, a native of Poland, and to say the least, a root of success for one of best volleyball teams in the nation.
Yet in order to meet this "Marsha" character, one must actually be in the presence of two members of the volleyball team, juniors Asia Kaczor and Marta Siemiatkowska.
The nickname "Marsha" originated early in the 2006 season as it proved to be the easiest way to catch the attention of the two women with last names that always trouble the average English speaker.
"They're just always together," senior co-captain setter Kimi Freeburg said. "They sort of come as a unit, so we named them as a unit. (USC coach Mick Haley) used to mix up the names, and that's where the nickname came from."
While outside hitter Joanna "Asia" Kaczor (pronounced AH-shuh- KAHK-chor) and middle blocker Marta Siemiatkowska (MART-tuh-sha-mee-uht-KOW-ska) have had separate experiences on the court this season, their unique friendship has grown even deeper.
"We're like sisters," Kaczor said.
Some siblings might find it hard to be constantly supportive, but for the women from across the world, it never seems to be a problem.
"They live together, they eat lunch together, they even order the same thing," junior outside hitter Diane Copenhagen said. "On road trips, one will even pick lunch one day and the other will pick lunch on the other day. It's just funny when you notice it."
Upon arrival at USC, Asia and Marta were already in the habit of winning side by side. As youngsters in Poland, the duo played opposite each other in grammar school, despite living two hours away. Nine years have passed since their friendship began when they were teammates on the Polish Junior National Team.
Although "Marsha" did not yet exist in 2005, Asia and Marta were members of the Golden Eagle volleyball team that went 50-2 and won the 2005 National Junior College Athletic Association national championship. As a freshman in 2005, Kaczor earned NJCAA Player of the Year honors, and as a sophomore, Siemiatkowska recorded 267 kills and led the team in blocks.
Traditionally, the College of Southern Idaho has been the stepping stone for women with the ultimate goal of playing Division I volleyball. While Marta arrived in Idaho a year before Asia, they naturally agreed to call Southern California home after graduating from junior college.
"The relationship with the coaches was very good," Siemiatkowska said. "Mick was very helpful, plus the entire school, the atmosphere, the educational level and the beaches helped us make our decision."
Even as best friends, some minor competition exists in the life of "Marsha."
"In the gym it's so fun to watch Marta block Asia and then watch Marta do this little dance in Asia's face; it fires her right up," Freeburg said.
Up to this point, Asia has played in all 103 games, while Marta has seen action in just 12. As Kaczor leads the Women of Troy in offensive categories such as average kills per game (4.96) and average hitting percentage (.307), Marta's statistical contributions have continued to increase.
"We're doing a really good job, but I'm not talking about myself, this is a team sport," Kaczor said. "It is great to see Marta out there. I just love to have her on the court. I'm just trying to help her as much as I can, I think she's doing great and she can do so much more."
This unique friendship reaches much deeper than just the volleyball court, into the classroom and beyond. Good academic standing matters for the pair of psychology majors.
"We're not going to play volleyball forever, so we have to think about our education, too," Siemiatkowska said. "We try never to bring the relationship between us on the court; what's on the court stays on the court. We always try to help each other."
Whether they're warming up together prior to a match, studying for the next test, or just finding time to enjoy this new place, "Marsha" is having fun as one.
"Everybody who knows about Marsha calls us that," Siemiatkowska said. "We're always together and the funniest thing is when people ask us a question we answer exactly the same way, word by word, people always laugh."
When the Women of Troy open the NCAA tournament tonight against Ole Miss, the program will not list "Marsha," but that's because she's out there soaking up her time in cardinal and gold.