By Caleb Elliott
Sibling rivalries are common in most athletic families. Who can win the most awards, have the most points, win more games. The goal is to always outdo the other sibling.
For senior Ben Morris and sophomore Olivia Morris, competing and playing at the highest level is all they know.
Ben and Olivia moved to Delta during the fall of the 2020-2021 school year, after attending Daleville High School. Ben played baseball for the Broncos while Olivia played volleyball in middle school.
As a freshman at Daleville Ben played both junior varsity and varsity baseball for the Broncos where he piled up two runs batted in (RBI’s) and four runs scored. He also had a 3.00 earned run average (ERA) allowing two hits and striking out six. With Daleville being a mainly senior team, Ben’s varsity time was limited during his freshman campaign.
His sophomore season, like many others, was canceled due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus.
Olivia was not able to participate in high school athletics while she was attending Daleville due to the move happening during her freshman year.
However even with their fascination in sports and competition, the driving factor was in the classroom.
“(We moved) mainly for academics, Delta has a lot more college classes than Daleville did,” Ben said. “(Daleville) didn’t have as many college classes like we do here.”
As a senior, Ben is taking five college dual credit courses this semester, where he wouldn’t receive that opportunity back at Daleville.
Olivia has also found the move to be for academics and a better way to improve herself on the court and in the classroom.
“We all play as a team here, and everyone is super competitive. Winning is a huge part of our sports,” she said.
Her sophomore season was when she started to assert her role on the team where she had 66 kills, 65 solo blocks, 19 aces, and 25 digs.
Head volleyball coach Kylie Johnson did not have Olivia as a freshman, but did get to coach her as a sophomore.
“I think she grew a lot just last season in realizing that she can have a greater impact on her team and is currently working on growing into a leadership role,” Johnson said.
Ben also grew a lot in his first year of baseball at Delta. As a junior he had a .347 batting average, 25 hits, and four home runs. On the pitching mound he had a 2.14 ERA and 24 strikeouts.
During the summer of his senior year, Ben decided to try out football for the first time since he was in the eighth grade. Ben played defensive end for the team where he had 33 solo tackles, 75 tackles, and 11 sacks. During this season Ben went on to win All-Hoosier Heritage Conference.
Varsity football head coach Chris Overholt said, “Ben always came to practice ready to work. He wanted to improve his game and help us win games.”
Overholt was eager to get Ben to play football and didn’t hesitate when Ben agreed to play.
“Whenever someone transfers in you always wonder what could’ve happened if you could get them for four years,” he said.
With all of this success in just a short stint of moving to Delta, both Ben and Olivia never cease to try and one up each other.
“Whenever we’re in the weight room we just try to outwork each other, and during sports we try to get more awards than each other,” Ben said.
Next year Olivia will be on her own in high school, hoping to continue the success she and her brother have had since they moved here. “The biggest thing is that I won’t be ‘Ben’s Sister’ anymore,” Olivia said.
Ben has not yet decided how he will continue his next chapter after high school, but is not short of opportunities.
Coach Johnson believes that the best is yet to come for Olivia.
“Olivia’s determination will take her as far as she wants to go. She is really pushing herself to be an all-around player. I believe with her work ethic she can do it, too.”
