Once a Husky, Always a Husky

Making your dream volleyball debut can be daunting on its own, but doing it in a tournament against your sibling brings its own challenges – like who your parents will root for. Maia Nichols made her Husky debut against her younger sister Madison’s Boise State Broncos on the sands where she spent most of her life playing. 

But the competition was not the only part that was familiar to Nichols; she knew the beaches well because she’s been playing since fourth grade on the sands of Alki Beach, where the Huskies call home. Growing up, she spent her summers playing in Junior beach tournaments on the west side of Seattle.

 “[That tournament] was an oh my gosh, I made it moment [for myself] and for my parents too,” Nichols said.

If the pair of sisters are playing against each other in an event, one parent wears a Husky shirt and the other one wears a Cal Poly shirt, where Madison now plays to show their loyalties, Nichols said. Volleyball runs in their family; Nichols’ mother played for San Jose State.

Nichols, an Olympia native, has been dreaming of being a Husky her entire life. When she entered the transfer portal after her sophomore year at Arizona State, she jumped at the opportunity to sign with the Huskies. 

“I have always heard amazing things about[Coach] Derek. And then finally getting here, I could see why all these people had such amazing things to say about him,” Nichols recounted.

Coach Olson has the Beach Dawgs on a trajectory for success thanks to a deep incoming recruiting class, and the highest ranked finish in program history last season. 

Nichols recounted plenty of benefits of returning to the Pacific Northwest after two years in the hot desert of Arizona, such as the academics, the four seasons, and her family. Family is important to her and that includes her parents, grandmother, and both of her 150-pound bullmastiffs back home in Olympia. 

“They’re just gentle giants. They are always trying to protect us in the backyard,” Nichols remarked. 

But the second someone knocks on the door, they hide behind their much smaller human counterparts. The bullmastiffs are back in Olympia hanging out with the rest of Nichols’ family even though Nichols would love for them to be with her. 

Nichols said that she has enjoyed getting to know her volleyball family in her first year at UW, whether through long practice or swimming in the cut (part of Lake Washington that many students swim) to cool down.

“My teammates are very special, and that’s…