| Marika Racibarskas |
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 | Class:
Junior
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| Hometown:
Chatham, N.J.
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| High School:
Chatham
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| Height:
6-0
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| Position:
S
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Pronounced: Ma-ree-ka • Rass-i-bars-kus
Lion Career
2010 (Sophomore): Academic All-Big Ten ... saw action in 15 matches and 18 sets as a serving and defensive specialist ... had three digs vs. Campbell (8/28) ... tallied a kill, two digs and two blocks against Princeton (9/18) ... had one dig each vs. Wisconsin (11/12) and Niagara (12/3).
2009 (Freshman): Saw action in 14 matches and 14 sets as a serving and defensive specialist ... made her collegiate debut against Miami (Ohio) winning the match with an ace ... had two digs vs. Alabama (8/29) ... tallied two digs against Buffalo in her Rec Hall debut (9/4) ... recorded an ace vs. Wisconsin (10/3) ... registered an ace vs. Purdue (10/24) ... had one ace each in matches vs. Binghamton and Penn (12/4-5).
High School
Four-year starter and letterwinner at Chatham High School in Chatham, N.J. ... finished with a scholastic record of 99-12 ... Chatham Cougars were 2005 and 2006 Morris County Tournament Finalists, 2006 New Jersey State Finalists and Iron Hills Conference (Hills Division) Champions, 2007 New Jersey State Champions, Morris County Tournament Champions and Iron Hlls Conference (Hills Division) Champions and 2008 Morris County Tournament Semifinalists and New Jersey State Semifinalists (Group II) ... earned Second-Team All-Area as a freshman ... three-time First Team All-Area ... three-time First Team All-County ... Second Team All-State 2006 ... three-time First Team All-State Group II ... two-time First Team All-State ... two-time First Team All-Conference ... 2006 PrepVolleyball.com Soph 79 ... two-time PrepVolleyball.com High School All-American ... 2007 New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year runner-up and 2008 New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year Finalist ... two-time New Jersey Star-Ledger Player of the Year (Morris County) ... 2007 Daily Record Player of the Year ... 2007 Morris County Tournament MVP ... Volleyball Magazine - Fab 50 ... 2008 Volleyball Preview Players to Watch - Featured Athlete ... Finalist for the 2008 Andi Collins Award for Best Senior Setter ... Top 250 Senior Ace ... 2008 Chatham volleyball co-captain and MVP ... earned the 2009 Tony "Anthony" R. Mack Sportsmanship Award.
Personal
Born Marika Racibarskas on February 25, 1991 in Los Angeles, Calif. ... parents are Andra Racibarskas and Warren Casey ... Has two brothers, Henry (26) and Kristoffer (16), and six sisters, Katie (41), Rebecca (34), Megan (30), Katrina (22), Kristina (14) and Annalea (9) ... sister Katrina played volleyball at Lafayette College ...majoring in Kinesiology ... her career goal is to be a strength trainer ... names working out and shopping as hobbies, "Something Blue" as her favorite book, "House" and "Gossip Girl" as her favorite TV shows, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" as favorite movie, Michael Jordan as favorite athlete, Will Farrell as favorite actor, Reese Witherspoon as favorite actress, and Caesar salad as favorite food.
Quoting Coach Rose
"The thing I like about Marika is she cares about the team more than she cares about herself. She is physically strong and plays well at the net. I believe she's a confident young person who has made great contributions to the team up to this point, and will continue to do so and play wherever she is asked."
Racibarskas' Expectations
"In order to uphold the tradition of Penn State volleyball, we all must work hard and work together every day to reach the next level. "
