Berland follows O’Brien to Western Michigan
She was Kalamazoo “krazy.”
She loved it. She loved Western Michigan University.
So, she told a friend.
Michelle O’Brien and Carlee Berland, a pair of tall Stevenson athletes who excelled on the same home court, had conversations about college this winter. O’Brien had signed a letter of intent in November to play basketball for the Kalamazoo university. Berland was looking for a school to play volleyball.
“She was raving about Western Michigan,” Berland said of O’Brien. “She made it my No. 1 choice. She talked it up so much that I had to see it. Then I went there and fell in love with the school.”
So now Berland has a friend to tell. Lots of friends.
On Thursday, a day after Western Michigan offered her a full-ride scholarship to play volleyball, Berland accepted.
She visited Western Michigan this past week, after having already taken official visits to Illinois State and Florida Atlantic. She was also looking at Boston College, Marquette and Dayton. She canceled a visit to Grand Valley State after accepting Western Michigan’s offer to be a Bronco.
“I loved the team and the coach’s philosophy,” said Berland, who will play for head coach Colleen Munson. “It’s a really good program.”
Munson has coached the Broncos to 20 or more wins in each of her six seasons. Western Michigan advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament in 2008, finishing the season with a 28-7 record. The Broncos, who compete in the Mid-American Conference, enjoyed a 20-match home winning streak this past season.
The 6-foot Berland blossomed for Stevenson last fall after moving from middle blocker to outside hitter early in the season. She was first contacted by Western Michigan two months ago. One of her Sky High coaches got in touch with a friend who coaches at Western Michigan, after learning the team was looking for an outside.
“(It happened) very quickly,” Berland said.
A hard-hitting righty, Berland helped lead Stevenson to a 27-8 record last fall. She paced the Patriots with 225 kills. She had been a “force in the middle” as a junior, Stevenson coach Tim Crow said.
“I think it was a huge success (moving to the outside) because I’m not tall enough to play middle at the Division I level,” Berland said. “Once I moved outside, it opened a lot of windows.”