A lot of people call the University of Connecticut Huskies a “blue blood” program but there’s not many players that can claim they’ve had that blood type since birth.
One UConn volleyball player, Grace Maria, can join the club – her mother, Sarah Northway Maria, was a member of the Huskies’ first national championship basketball team in 1995 under head coach Geno Auriemma.
G. Maria, hailing from Arlington, Virginia and standing at 6-foot-2, was a preeminent basketball and volleyball player in high school, becoming Virginia’s all-state pick in volleyball in 2022. As captain, she led the team to two conference championships and through the state playoffs. She was awarded the Bishop O’Connell Student Athlete of the Year in 2023.
“I always felt at home [at UConn] and when I was young I wanted to play basketball there, too,” said Maria in a 2022 interview with Yahoo Sports following her verbal commitment to play for the Huskies. “But last year I decided to concentrate on volleyball. When UConn contacted me, they were on top of my list.”
After considering DePaul, Madison and Virginia, Maria knew UConn was the right choice.
“I just couldn’t be more proud of Grace when I see her in that UConn uniform,” mother Sarah Maria told Gametime CT. “I was very honored that she chose to play for my alma mater but I wouldn’t say that she’s following in my footsteps. She’s definitely paving her own way… Above all, it just brings this mom so much joy to see her doing what she loves.”
Maria, now an outside hitter on the UConn volleyball team, has appeared in over thirty matches. She’s helping maintain a healthy winning streak for the team, completing undefeated nonconference play for the 2024 season in the newly renovated UConn Volleyball Center, formerly home to the Freitas Ice Forum.
“Her communication and her presence on the court has really made a difference,” said teammate Emma Werkmeister at in a 2023 profile on Maria by the New Haven Register. “There’s never a point where any of us don’t feel, ‘Grace has got our back.'”
Head coach Ellen Herman-Kimball shares the sentiment, commenting “She’s got that edge about her that she wants to be great. I love that about her; Her back-row game, we were really impressed with how she handled the speed of the game. It’s fast. The ball is hit harder and it’s happening all the time. She’s definitely more consistent.”
That sense of team security may be due in part to Maria’s steadfast academic achievement, as a business major and being named on the athletic director’s honor roll.
A self-proclaimed “IQ player”, Maria says she wants to give 100 percent to be her best; and she succeeds – with her name consistently appearing in summaries, earning the Huskies points as a leader in digs and service aces.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity I have to play volleyball at UConn. It’s a dream that I get to do what I love every day and I get to do it with my teammates and coaches. I couldn’t ask for more,” said Maria in an interview with the New Haven Register.
Grace Maria is the third child of former UConn women’s basketball players to continue with athletics at UConn – the others include Tommy and Kelly Meyers, who participated in football and track-and-field, both daughters of 1986 graduate Peggy Walsh Myers. Numerous other significant alumni’s descendants are UConn students.
Ellen Herman-Kimball has served as the head coach of the UConn volleyball team since 2019 after joining the team as an assistant coach in 2011. She has helped build some of the program’s best seasons with visits to the Big East Volleyball Semifinals in 2022 and numerous record-breaking Big East contest victories.
Women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma has led the Huskies to countless conference championships, multiple NCAA tournament contests including 23 Final Four appearances and 11 NCAA national championship titles.
The University of Connecticut’s first national title was won in 1995 in Minneapolis, Minnesota against the Tennessee Lady Volunteers, with Sarah Northway Maria contributing to the team until 1997.
To keep up with UConn Huskies athletics, schedules and other news, visit uconnhuskies.com.
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