As the San Diego Mojo prepare to play in the Major League Volleyball (MLV) Championship, we wanted to highlight one of their most impactful players, Marlie Monserez. Monserez is the Mojo’s starting setter and made her first MLV All-Star appearance in March.
Her volleyball journey is rooted in Florida. She grew up alongside her two older sisters, Madison and Allie, who went on to play volleyball for the Florida Gators. Marlie followed in her sisters' footsteps, playing for the Gators for three-and-a-half years where she earned a degree in marketing. She then transferred to UCLA to play beach volleyball while earning a Master’s degree in Transformative Coaching and Leadership.
Natalie Tullar/@nstphotography_
After two seasons of beach volleyball, her professional career began in 2024 with both Athletes Unlimited and MLV’s (formerly Pro Volleyball Federation) Atlanta Vibe. After two seasons in Atlanta, she signed with the San Diego Mojo in August 2025.
During her professional and collegiate career, she has earned many honors, including two-time American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American as a Gator, two match MVP selections when playing for Athletes Unlimited, and two-time All-PVF Second Team selection with the Vibe.
This season, Monserez is third in the league in assists per set (10.19), fourth in kill percentage (46.6%), and first in kill efficiency (43.1%). She is also one of three Mojo players ranked in the top 10 in the league in both total digs (334) and digs per set (3.01), alongside Shara Venegas (431, 3.92) and Grace Loberg (321, 3.03), contributing to a back row that drives the Mojo’s transition game.
Learn more about her from our conversation.
You grew up in Florida and had so many amazing accolades growing up playing volleyball there. Do you have any favorite memories from your early time playing volleyball?
I grew up not wanting to play because ... my sisters played and I was dragged to all of their tournaments. For my family, I actually started late. I started [playing] when I was eight, and I know that’s not late for most people, but I was almost born in the gym. I would say my favorite memories were really just going to watch my sisters and kind of learning from them. Obviously, I love to play, but I love to be around family.
Natalie Tullar/@nstphotography_
Have you considered any other sports at all?
Honestly, there was not that much time for me to play other sports when I was little, I played basketball, I did track, and I played volleyball. I didn’t really like being touched so it was kind of volleyball or nothing. I [also] played lacrosse which was fun. I really got into volleyball young and just dabbled in other sports.
What did it mean to you to play college volleyball at Florida, especially following your sisters?
It meant everything. It’s such an amazing program. (Head coach) Mary Wise was there forever and I was so grateful to be able to play for her, as well as both my sisters being able to play for her. She’s just a legendary female coach.
I love their program. I go back and I train with them and it’s really fun. It was really cool to have all of us play there and my mom [also] went there. I love Florida and it’ll always hold a special place in my heart.
Can you tell me about your transition to beach volleyball and then back to indoor for your professional career?
I graduated early and I finished my senior season in December and then started the spring season at UCLA in January. I had a two-week turnaround and I never really played beach volleyball before. Even though I grew up in Florida, it was just so hot that I never really wanted to [play beach volleyball]. Once I got to college, I had seen a lot of girls graduate early and go to beach and I said “Well, I want to do that.”
I went to UCLA under the understanding that I probably wouldn’t play, but there’s always a chance. I looked at [beach volleyball] like a completely different sport, because it is. There’s not much crossover being a setter. I think the transition wasn’t as hard once I separated it. There was a lot to learn and I had the most amazing coaches and the most amazing teammates. I wouldn’t have changed my time at UCLA for the world.
Natalie Tullar/@nstphotography_
What was it like, regardless of the sport, moving to California after being in Florida for so long?
I feel like it was a big change going from one end of the country to the other. It was my first time being away from home, so it was kind of like that freshman year all over again. I didn’t experience that [when attending Florida], because I was so close to home.
Weirdly enough, I wasn’t as homesick at UCLA as I was at Florida. At Florida, I could go home, because it was just so close. At UCLA, I just had to accept that I couldn’t go home, so I actually loved it. I loved being on the other side of the country and my parents came a lot, so it was really great.
How has it been adjusting to living in San Diego now after spending the last two seasons in Atlanta? Have you found any favorite San Diego spots that you’ve discovered since being here?
Oh, I love it so much! It’s more similar to Florida than Atlanta. I really prefer the warmth, so I really only see myself in California or Florida. I live in Pacific Beach, so I just love being in that area.
I think Bird Rock is probably my favorite. I went to Windandsea Beach recently and it was so fun and pretty. I also love Coronado. I take everybody there when they come to visit!
This season, the Mojo started slow, but now, you all have found yourselves in a playoff seed. What can you say about your team’s resilience throughout the last couple weeks?
I think we just have a team of gritty people. Our coaches themselves are like that, so it’s easy to walk in the gym every day and just want to try to get better. The coaches want us to get better and they put in just as much work as us. It’s really cool to see our growth every day, because it’s a really positive mindset in this gym. It’s always trying to find a way, as Alisha [Childress] says, “pick the lock and find new ways to be successful.”
I think we’re just really resilient because it’s really easy in the beginning of a season to be like, “oh you lose so many, we’re not going to be good this year.” If you step back and look, it’s a really long season and you play everybody four times. I think our mindset was we just want to beat everybody at least once. If you can beat everybody twice, you can be in playoff contention. With that mindset, we really turned it around.
You got to play in your first All-Star game last month. Can you just speak on that experience?
It was so cool! There’s so many girls in this league that you’ve played with or played against for years, and it’s really cool to see everybody again. It’s also a really high level of volleyball, so it’s just a cool experience and I loved it. It was also in Orlando, so it was close to home. It was just really fun to see all my friends that are on different teams.
Do you have any final words as you guys close out the regular season and head to the Major League Volleyball Championships?
I’m just really excited at the challenge of the playoffs. This group is peaking at the right time, and it’s just really fun to be around everybody. Everyday, we’re like we don’t want this season to end and that’s a cool mindset to have as a team. I love it. It’s like a sisterhood.
Kill Percentage vs. Kill Efficiency
Kill Percentage reflects the rate at which a player wins a point on an attack. It is calculated as the total number of kills divided by the total number of attempts. (For example, Monserez has 81 kills on 174 attempts, so 81 kills divided by 174 attempts is 46.6%.)
Kill Efficiency takes into account kill errors that give the point to the other team and so is a measure of both ability to win the point on an attack and accuracy. Kill efficiency is calculated as the total number of kills minus total number of errors, then taking that difference and dividing by the total number of attempts. (For example, Monserez has 81 kills and 6 errors on 174 attempts, so 81 kills minus 6 errors is 75, and 75 divided by 174 attempts is 43.1%.)
Top Photo by Natalie Tullar/@nstphotography_
