Delaney Maple's story doesn't forget that Indiana volleyball coach Steve Aird is a lifelong, tormented Toronto Maple Leafs fan.
If you don't know much about hockey, think of the Chicago Cubs before they finally won the World Series in 2016.
“I joked, 'Are you hiring someone just because your last name is Maple?'” he said with a laugh.
No, because Delaney Maple has done everything she can in beach volleyball so far, until she wins a professional tournament. And while it may have been a while, Maple was a pretty good indoor player in high school.
She graduated from the University of Southern California on Thursday, but her beach volleyball resume only includes winning four NCAA titles in four years and winning just about every postseason honor imaginable. . This was followed by her great career at Torrey Pines High School/Club.
The logical next step would be to become a full-time professional at the beach. She already has more experience there than most 21-year-olds.
but …
She will play for Aird, the aforementioned Canadian who is Indiana University's seventh-year head coach.
“This year, my main purpose is to first get my master's degree (in sports management), but I also want to push myself in ways that I wouldn't do here,” says the player, who played at the beach at the University of Southern California as a high school freshman. Maple promised and spoke.
“I've been pushed incredibly hard at USC, but I've felt comfortable in the sense that I knew where I was going for the last seven years, and I've known the coaches since I was 14, and the girls I've met along the way. I knew them all.''I've been playing here with them and playing against them since I was probably 12 years old. It felt very familiar to me. That's why this experience at USC was so great. It truly symbolized my second home.
“But I think you need to understand that you need to be grateful to your parents after being away from home for a year. I see them every weekend and I take it for granted that I did it. Go to a remote place for a year and test it out and try a new sport.”
Well, not exactly. The 5-foot-11 Maple will be joining the likes of Yale setter Carly Diehl and libero Vera Chan, BYU outsider Sophia Callahan, Kraft and Indiana setter Emily Pfitzner, who is finishing up her indoor career. He played indoors at Torrey Pines with teammates who went on to play in Division I. At IU, I transferred to USC to play on the beach.
And, of course, Megan Craft, a 6-foot jumping jack who later became the greatest beach player in NCAA history and who went 27-3 the past two years as Maple's USC partner and is ranked No. 1 in 2023, will win 35 games this season. 4 losses.
Maple competed in her first AVP tournament in 2018, and at just 16 years old in Huntington Beach in 2019, she and Craft became the youngest team to advance from qualifying on the AVP Tour. The two won the 2021 FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championship held in Phuket, Thailand.
Maple is an outside hitter who understands his role at Indiana could be on defense. “Serve-receive is kind of my favorite thing to do.”
She hasn't played organized indoor volleyball since Torrey Pines' team won the state title in 2019. To be honest, she was interested in entering the portal because she played in an open gym last summer and she had forgotten how much she loved playing indoors. That was the trigger.”
Indiana finished 21-12 last season and 11-9 in the Big Ten, and has five outside players on the 2024 roster, with Maple listed as one of five defensive specialists. There is.
When she decided to spend the season indoors, she remembered her connection to her old WAVE club.
Indiana Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Rachel Morris is in her second year at Indiana and is a former WAVE coach.
IU assistant Kevin Hodge was Aird's teammate on the Penn State men's team and WAVE's coach and recruiting director.
“Within two hours of entering the portal, I texted Kevin, almost jokingly, saying, 'I'm in the portal now, when can you take me to Indiana?'” I’m going to make fun of you,” Maple said. “And I thought, if that's what I want to do, this could be a really great opportunity.”
She spoke with Morris and set up a visit, which went well.
Maple's father is from Chicago, but by going there she's familiar with the Midwest. He suggested I go to Bloomington.
“And I don't have any plans yet. This year, with AVP so up in the air, I feel like it was the perfect year for me to try something new.”
Maple will celebrate her 22nd birthday on June 9, eight days after arriving in Bloomington.
“I don't know if I want to go back to the beach or go indoors, but I'm going to try it out and see if I want to go back indoors and what opportunities are available to me.” I know that I don't want to quit playing volleyball next year, and I know that there is something inside me that wants to play as long as possible.
“So I'm trying to figure out what I want to do in terms of what realistically makes the most sense to me.”
Maple, who plans to become a sports media player after she quits volleyball, said she is also keeping an eye on the development of women's professional volleyball in the United States.
“I immediately surrounded myself with people I looked up to like Steve, and I ended up meeting girls. I've known Rachel and Kevin for years. They made me a better person, a better person. These are the people who make me into a player.
“So I'm just doing it to test myself. Let's see if it's worth it. I'm sure there will be days I regret it,” she said with a smile. “But I'm glad I did it.”