MARNIE TRIEFENBACH-HERRLING

Volleyball

Born: August 15, 1974; Belleville, Illinois
Position: Outside Hitter
Played For: Stanford University

Imagine having championships follow you wherever you go. Well, it wasn’t to that extreme, but for Marnie Triefenbach-Herrling it must have felt that way both at Belleville West High School and Stanford University.

The pride of her high school’s volleyball program, Marnie was a member of two state champions with the Maroons with whom she attained All-American honors. She lead Belleville West to the Illinois state title and No. 2 national ranking in 1991. Marnie even held the national high school record for career kills on the court until her Stanford teammate, and St. Louis friend, Kristin Folk, came along to wipe out the mark.

At Stanford, however, the accolades kept coming. There were two NCAA championships and a third-place finish while with the Cardinal, with whom Triefenbach-Herrling again earned All-American honors.

Triefenbach, who also starred in basketball with the Maroons and actually went to Stanford on a basketball scholarship, has been listed by some as one of the Top 10 athletes at Stanford. Showing off her versatility, she led the Belleville West basketball team her junior year, during which her Maroons’ only loss in 29 games came in the sectional final. That year, she averaged some 16 points. She also played soccer well enough that her youth teams lost only once in eight years.

Marie still has fond memories of those competitive days. “It’s not so much at all about the trophies and the accolades, it’s the people,” said Triefenbach-Herrling, now a managing partner for the Skyline Partners construction project management firm in San Leandro, Calif. “The things that I remember the most are the shared moments. It was about winning with that team and those moments.”