The Thirds Volleyball Team

By Crystal Zheng ‘27

NMH’s first ever thirds volleyball team, photo from NMH Flickr

Fun fact: the inventor of volleyball, William G. Morgan, graduated from NMH in 1893. So, NMH logically attracts many volleyball enthusiasts with a long history of playing this challenging but fascinating sport. Every fall, more than 50 girls head to Forslund Gym for the Varsity and Junior Varsity volleyball team tryouts. 

A small fraction of these passionate players, about 13 for each team, make it, though a large portion remain sport-less for a while. During that period, it’s extremely easy to feel left out, not to mention the growing anxiety and fear of maybe never finding a new sport that suits them. “One of the worst parts of my job has been telling 20 to 30 kids they can't play because they didn't make the JV team,” said Darik Velez, the head coach for Girls JV Volleyball. 

After many years of negotiation and requests, NMH finally has a Thirds team! “Expanding NMH Volleyball to the Thirds level has been a hope of mine since taking the helm as head coach [of varsity],” remarked Meg Merlino. “AD Rick Hendrickson has been instrumental, in collaboration with the folks in Holbrook, in bringing Thirds volleyball to Forslund Gym.”

The Thirds team is an option for students who might have recently developed a new interest in volleyball and would like to try it out or as a stepping stone for experienced players to develop and hone their skills. It doesn’t leave anyone without a sport, allowing them to get to know volleyball less competitively. 

Allowing players to gain experience and pursue their ambitions simultaneously, Thirds can provide a comfortable environment to improve and progress into the JV team, feeding players to build an even stronger volleyball community for NMH.