Tiara and Volleyballs Do Mix for Moore

The competitive drive in 19-year-old Kelsey Moore (Chandler, Ariz.) has allowed her to blossom in two areas of her life, despite getting a late start in both compared to others her age.

Moore, a 6-foot-2 redshirt freshman playing middle blocker at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), has ambitions to play professional volleyball and possibly become a political reporter after her playing career is over. Both life treks may have gained significant jump starts through a conversation with a family friend and hard work this summer that resulted in two victories that will land her on a national stage come April 2010 as Miss Texas USA 2010 competing in the Miss USA 2010 Pageant. Before this year, pageants and any type of modeling were unknown to Moore.

“A friend of mine who is in the sports and entertainment business said that if I wanted a future in pro volleyball, that I should get my name out there, get in front of cameras and reporters,” Moore said about increasing potential sponsorship interest after college volleyball for a professional career in the sport and later a spot in front of the cameras reporting. “I started by entering the Miss El Paso USA Pageant, which is one of about 10 cities that have contests in Texas that earn spots in the Miss Texas USA Pageant, while other contestants just sign up to compete (without a preliminary contest).”

Despite being a student-athlete on a full volleyball scholarship at UTEP, Moore does not anticipate any problems with receiving her prize package.

“We are still talking with the NCAA, but everything of monetary value I received not because of being a UTEP athlete,” Moore said. “It is separate and should not affect my eligibility. I probably will not take some of the prizes, including a scholarship to Lindenwood University as I am already on full scholarship and I would need to live in Texas to represent the state.”

The biggest prize, though, is an entry into the Miss USA Pageant and representing Texas at the event scheduled for April 18 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.

Just as she was new to the pageant world in 2009, Moore ventured out of her comfort zone five years ago to find the sport of volleyball and started playing against teammates and opponents who had taken up the sport much earlier in life. She had been playing basketball since age five and excelled in track and field on the side. However, she had never played competitive volleyball until her freshman year in high school.