Michaela Skelly was helpless.

One second, she was watching Aila Dommestrup make a picture-perfect set. The next second, she was taking a volleyball squarely to the face, courtesy of a Morgan Jones spike.

Playing defense in that Syracuse volleyball practice a few weeks back, Skelly witnessed just how much Jones, a sophomore, has improved since last season.

“She’s even more powerful than she was last year,” Skelly said.

Jones — who collected 134 kills as a freshman — will start at outside hitter when the Orangewomen open their season at Manley Field House tonight at 7 against Wagner.

“Morgan is a force on the other side of the net,” sophomore Ashley Kimes said. “You don’t want to be on the other side of the net when she’s hitting.”

Part of Jones’ power comes from her childhood. Working on her parents’ farm in Malad, Idaho, Jones developed the strapping arms necessary for a vicious spike.

“Every year (me and my brothers) get the pleasure of bailing hay,” Jones said. “Those barrels aren’t as light as they look. It’s really a workout lifting them.”

Lifting hay wasn’t the only thing she did over the summer.

Jones — a pre-med student — also interned at a hospital, getting acclimated to the life of a doctor. She aspires to become a pediatric surgeon.

Jones, who has enjoyed basketball since childhood, also wants to be like her cousin, Justin, who played basketball at Utah State and now plays professionally in Europe.

“He’s my idol,” Jones said. “He had an influence on me playing basketball in high school.”

At Malad High, Jones was an All-State basketball player her junior year and almost played basketball at SU.

“I didn’t choose volleyball until the last minute,” Jones said. “Basketball was my favorite sport. But as I played more volleyball, it kept getting more intense.”

In some ways, though, having a basketball mentality helps Jones on the volleyball court.

“Basketball helped me with my patience,” Jones said. “But the discipline is more intense in volleyball.”

Recently, Jones picked up another sport, and, perhaps surprisingly, it’s much less competitive.

“I’m learning how to fish,” Jones said. “I got my very first fly-fishing pole last Christmas. Me and my dad go to the reservoirs (in Idaho) all of the time. It’s a really good time to spend with my father.”

Coming to Syracuse from the West, Jones found herself farther away from her family than ever before. But Jones was not alone.

Fellow Orangewoman Rachel Crooks, who comes from Green Springs, Ohio, roomed with Jones and helped her adjust to the faster pace of New York life.

“We can relate to each other because we’re both rural girls,” Crooks said. “Part of the reason we became close was because of that.”

And now, Jones has found the ideal situation.

“I left home just to start over, get out on my own and experience things,” Jones said.

Jones’ experience from last season, when SU finished 14-13, lets her approach tonight’s opener with renewed optimism.

“It’s going to get the team to work together,” Jones said, “and we’re going to show what we got.”

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Published on August 29, 2002 at 12:00 pm