Daniel Brey/ Contributing Writer
Her presence is undoubtedly noticeable, her demeanor unique.
FIU junior Maryna Samoday is a rare breed of sand volleyball player.
What separates Samoday from the average athlete is not her six-foot one inch frame, or even her bone-chilling
Despite missing the majority of the volleyball season, junior Maryna Samoday has broken out in sand volleyball with a 7-1 overall record with partner Jessica Mendoza. Roberto Jimenez/FIUSM
kills, it is her attitude.
The manner in which Samoday conducts herself within the confines of the sand courts and in the classroom is what really highlights her various attributes.
“Maryna is such a great player,” FIU sand volleyball head coach Rita Buck-Crockett said. “She is so disciplined inside and outside the classroom.”
Samoday, a native of Sumy, Ukraine, has been playing volleyball, both indoor and sand, since she could stand on two legs.
“I have been playing volleyball my entire life,” Samoday said. “I think that as soon as I started to walk is when I began to play volleyball.”
Samoday’s father, Valeriy Samoday, a former Soviet Union national team player, can be properly credited for the development of her mentality and skill set.
“My dad was my coach my whole life,” Samoday said. “He taught me everything I know about sand volleyball, it is sometimes very difficult to be away from him.”
Valeriy has also influenced another close individual in Maryna’s life, her brother, Valeriy Samoday Jr.
Samoday Jr., a two-time under-21 sand volleyball world champion, grew up with Maryna in Ukraine, and both continue to have a sister-brother relationship that could only be described as inseparable.
On Maryna’s 20th birthday, in a phone call, Valeriy surprised his sister with a rather permanent method to solidify their relationship.
“When my brother surprised me with a tattoo of our initials together I started to cry,” Samoday said. “I was never a fan of tattoos, but it meant a lot to me that he would do that, so when I arrived home in Ukraine I got a tattoo as well.”
Not only does Samoday have an air-tight bond with her family in Ukraine, but even in Miami she has managed to find a family contrived of her sand volleyball teammates, and FIU women’s basketball player Marita Davydova.
“We are like a family,” Samoday said. “Marita and I have a really great bond because we are both from Europe. “As for the team, they really support me, and I feel that [Miami] is my home away from home.”
Although Miami may provide a temporary home for the sand volleyball superstar, Samoday noted that her mother’s cooking far surpassed any “arroz con pollo” or “bistec” Miami had to offer.
“Don’t get me wrong, I like Miami food,” Samoday said. “But my mother’s cooking is just so good.”
Before taking her talents to FIU, Samoday attended Seminole State College in Tallahassee, Fla. where she earned All-Region recognition in 2010, and led the Trojans to a 35-5 record in her final year at the institution.
After the end of her sophomore year at SSC, Samoday was heavily recruited by various schools including Louisiana State University, Oregon State University, and Arizona State University.
Maryna finally decided to dock in South Beach to be a part of the inaugural season of FIU sand volleyball.
Her decision to come to FIU was a no brainer, said Samoday, once FIU hired the great Olympic silver medalist Buck-Crockett to become head coach.
“The main reason I came to FIU was because of Rita Buck-Crockett,” Samoday said. “I felt that she would give me the best coaching, being that she is very knowledgeable, and a former player.”
Her career at FIU began with a sudden speed bump, which sidelined her for the 2012-2013 indoor volleyball season with a serious elbow contusion.
Since the injury, Samoday has played her best volleyball of her sand volleyball career.
Samoday has put on quite a show in her first year at FIU, managing to win all of her duals matches this season except for a lone loss coming against her teammates Kate Stepanova and Ksenia Sukhareva in the Hawaii tournament finals.
“I feel that I have played well so far this season,” Samoday said. “My teammates, especially my duals partner Jessica [Mendoza], have really been the reason for my success.”
