UMKC Hall of Fame Spotlight - Catalina Suarez-Moss
12/29/2008 1:00:00 PM | General, Athletics
by Elyssa Brogdon
Former honorable mention All-American Catalina Suarez-Moss never played volleyball for recognition, but throughout her career, she has received many honors for her efforts over the years.
Suarez-Moss is one of only two UMKC athletes to have their jersey number retired, and she was a first team all-Mideast Region selection in 1989. Her name still litters the NCAA and UMKC record books, and now she is joining the UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame.
“I was telling my husband Michael that it was like I was in a cloud or a dream,” Suarez-Moss said of the Hall of Fame. “I never did volleyball and the things that I did for recognition, so people would know who I was, to get the interview, be in the newspaper, or anything like that. It was just kind of in me, it was not to accomplish something.”
According to Suarez-Moss everything in her life has been linked to volleyball, but it all started in her hometown.
“In Bogota, Colombia, when you got to third grade you could choose between volleyball and basketball,” Suarez-Moss said. “I picked volleyball because I don't like contact sports.”
Suarez-Moss played volleyball any chance she got and when she entered fifth grade she started joining teams. And at 18, Suarez-Moss caught the eye of an American coach.
“Volleyball is what brought me to the United States,” Suarez-Moss said. “I was coming here to live with a lady in California who had invited a few Colombian people to play for her volleyball club. And through them a lot of us got scholarships.”
Many colleges and universities across the country offered Suarez-Moss a scholarship, but the University of Kansas got her the paper work first. Suarez-Moss played for KU for two years and when KU's assistant coach was offered the head coach position at UMKC, Suarez-Moss came with him. UMKC ended up giving Suarez-Moss much more than a scholarship.
“Because of volleyball one thing led to another thing,” said Suarez-Moss. “UMKC is where I met my husband. I came to UMKC for volleyball and if I wouldn't have come to UMKC I wouldn't have met my husband, and we wouldn't be where we are today.”
After graduating she became an assistant coach for Rice University for a year, but hasn't been involved since then.
“To this day if I could have it in my daily life I would. There is a part of me that feels lost because at this point in my life I don't have it,” Suarez-Moss said. “When I was talking to the team when I was back in Kansas City in September I told them to enjoy it while you can because someday it will be gone and it is going to go so fast.”
While volleyball is absent in her life, she has something even more precious to her, a five-year-old son.
“To me now my life is yoga and helping out at my son's school as much as I can.”
(This is the sixth of a nine-part series featuring the inaugural UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame class.)
Hall of Fame Features
- Bill Frerking - Men's Basketball- Katie Houlehan - Women's Basketball- Robert Russell - Men's Golf- Larry Scheller - Men's Soccer- Ronnie Schmitz - Men's Basketball