For Xiaoting Ma, her road to Oklahoma City University was a long one.
The junior volleyball player from Dalian, China, found a home on the court at OCU after stops at Oklahoma Baptist and Redlands (Okla.).
Ma is this week’s Super Star of the Week after helping her team to a 2-0 record last week. She averaged 4.00 kills and had a .346 attack percentage in OCU wins over Mid-America Christian and John Brown (Ark.). She also had 14 digs, four blocks and two assists. For her efforts, Ma was also named Sooner Athletic Conference player of the week.
Ma first came to the United States to study American Sign Language at Oklahoma Baptist University.
“When I was a little girl, I had the dream that when I grew up I would want to go and see the different cultures,” Ma said about moving from China to Oklahoma.
After one semester at OBU, Ma decided that she wanted to play volleyball while she was in school.
“I sent e-mails out everywhere asking if anyone wanted me to play,” she said. “Jen [Gomez] was the only one who sent back to me. Because my English was not very good, she helped me get into Redlands Community College to play one year.”
“I saw dedication and commitment from her because she paid her own way to study and learn English at OBU,” said Gomez about Ma. “I knew that if she got a year under her belt at Redlands, she would make a great outside hitter for us.”
Ma shined at Redlands, becoming a second-team NJCAA all-American.
After her year at Redlands, Ma came to OCU with Gomez, the coach who had wanted her in the beginning.
“Not only is she a good volleyball player, but she’s a great student here,” Gomez said. “We’re really glad she picked us.”
To view video of an interview with Ma, click here.
More on Xiaoting:
Person I would trade places with: Jackie Chan
My obsession is: Shopping
What I’d like to transform into: Panda
The thing that keeps me up at night: Homework
What I did last summer: workout, class, lifeguard
