Tiger Abroad: Mo Arrives In Sweden

CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson great, Mo Simmons (Class of ’14) signed her first professional contract this August and has begun a new chapter of her life playing volleyball overseas in Sweden for Svedala.This is the first installment of our weekly Q&A with our Tiger abroad.

Q: What were first thoughts when you first arrived in your new city? 

M: “My first thoughts on my arrival had to be ‘Yes that flight is over!’ Then it was, ‘Wow it is really beautiful here and so are the people! As well as dressing up.’ I’m more of a leggings and shirt kind of girl or even sweat pants.“

“The fashion statement people make here puts America to shame, it is a must that you wear something other than workout cloths to go grocery shopping or to the city, I like it though.”

Q: What was your preseason like in terms of schedule? Did you enjoy it?

M: “My preseason felt very short, I’m glad the season is finally here. We as a team bonded and clicked very fast and well together.”

“We had a team bonding day full of events including recording a team song. We have a team song that we recorded at a studio and it was loads of fun, now as far as how it sounds that’s in the ears of the beholder. Plus we started out our season undefeated, I truly enjoyed the preseason!”

Q: How did your preseason and training compare to your experience at the college level?

M: “I truly enjoyed preseason the main reason being, the fact that we played a lot. Who doesn’t love playing during preseason? When normally we don’t touch a ball until the end of preseason.”

“We lift and train on our own except on Wednesday’s, that is a team lifting day. The thing I miss about college is lifting as a team, even though we are all in the weight room we all do individual things so there isn’t really any cheering on or pushing to be better as a whole. It’s the little things in life.”

Q: Can you tell a difference in the style of play between the United States and Europe? Have you adapted well?

M: “The game play is just about the same except we are allowed to wear jewelry overseas but in the US we cannot.”

“Another difference is, running back row attacks is very, very popular here. In the US you use that as an outlet or scramble ball. As for Europe it is to get first ball kill which I love.”

—

For all of Simmons’ career accolades as a Tiger, click here for her complete student-athlete bio.