Men’s Volleyball is Back!
The last MA Men’s Volleyball team in 2000
November 2, 202263 Views
In the iconic words of Eminem, “Guess who’s Back?” The answer, so it seems, is Men’s Volleyball, because after a 20 year hiatus it’s returning to Marin Academy. And we have a group of MA students to thank.
I’m sure by now, many of you have heard about the new volleyball team from the announcement at Assembly, but you may not know that up until 2000 MA had a vibrant men’s volleyball program. Men’s volleyball at Marin Academy dates back to at least the 80s, with our very own trainer, Aaron Gill, participating on the team in 1994. At its peak in 1997, the varsity squad tied for BCCLs Division II championship and qualified for the playoffs. The team was still going strong in 1999, but unfortunately suffered a significant decline in participation due to the ascension of Men’s Lacrosse which competes in the same season as Volleyball. The last year of Men’s Volleyball in the 2000 only had eight players, and while you play with six on the court, the lack of players and experience led to a rough final year for the team. Now, 20 years later Marin Academy is very excited Men’s Volleyball is making a comeback!
Angus H. ‘23 and Griffin B. ‘26 are two of the students behind this revival and are looking forward to the spring season. Griffin, a freshman, knew other Bay Area prep schools had a Men’s Volleyball program, and wondered why MA didn’t. When he decided to speak to the MA Athletics Directors about it, he discovered several students have actually been looking to start a team for a few years. This is when Griffin connected with Angus, and they put their plan into motion. Neither student has much experience in volleyball, with Angus actually being introduced to the sport through an MA Minicourse, but that does not stop them from having big hopes for the team. Angus’s main goal is to have fun and says he “wants to create some of the chemistry and camaraderie that all teams should have”. Griffin shares this sentiment, saying “I’m looking forward the most to just being a part of a team” and believed it will be fun getting to know more students through volleyball. Both Angus and Griffin are pleasantly surprised by the levels of interest so far, and are excited to see what this season will bring.
Welcome Back Men’s Volleyball!
