UMBC volleyball is hosting Maui Wildfire Awareness Night on Nov. 10 and handing out pink leis to fans when the team hosts the New Jersey Institute of Technology as part of Aysia Miller’s efforts to bring attention to the situation.
The senior outside hitter and setter from Oahu, Hawaii, is fortunate that no one in her family was directly affected by the wildfires, but she knows others who were not so lucky. She hopes to educate the UMBC community about how the wildfires affected her community.
“One of the goals that I had for creating this night was that I wanted to spread awareness about my home,” Miller said. “Kind of just tell people here at UMBC what has been going on and how it has affected my community, affected other people, bringing that support to Maryland. Being so far away, I want to do as much as possible to help others.”
The wildfires started on Maui on Aug. 8, devastating the town of Lahaina. More than 100 people died from the fire. Most of Maui has reopened to tourists, and tourists are encouraged to go back in an effort to prevent an economic disaster.
Miller appreciates all the support she received from UMBC’s coaches and staff to help put an awareness night together.
“I talked a lot with [head coach] Kasey Crider about my culture, how I feel about my home, and I think he kind of jump-started that for me,” Miller said. “He introduced the idea to [volleyball SID Zach Seidel] of doing something like this for me. I’m entirely grateful for that because it helps me feel like I’m making a difference, like I’m representing Hawaii to the best of my ability.”
The first sport Miller played while growing up in Hawaii was soccer. She didn’t like it too much, so her mother, who played volleyball when she was younger, had some other ideas.
“She introduced me to [volleyball], she thought I would like it,” Miller said. “I loved it from when I started playing. I played club from when I was 10 until high school, and now I’m here. Growing up, volleyball has been a huge thing in the state.”
Miller’s parents, Tessie and Bernal, will be at both of UMBC’s matches this weekend — NJIT on Nov. 10 and UAlbany on Nov. 12 for the team’s senior night. It’s the third time they’ll be able to watch Miller play in college. They traveled to UMBC during her sophomore year and then traveled to the University of Southern California for the Cardinal and Gold Classic last year.
“I think they’re looking forward to me embarrassing myself a little,” Miller joked. “We have promotional videos during the match. I did a trivia night kind of thing and also a pidgin language 101.”
This season, the 5-foot-10 Miller is fourth on the team with 14 service aces and 152 digs, and sixth on the team with 84 kills. The team is off to a 13-7 start overall and 6-2 in conference play, good for first place in the America East. The Retrievers are competing for their fourth straight America East title.
Miller hopes that the awareness night will lead to other similar efforts to support international players on the volleyball team. There are six on this year’s roster.
“There are a lot of internationals. I’m not considered international, but I feel like everyone on our team understands how it is to be far from home,” Miller said. “I hope that one day all the people on my team that are from different countries can do something similar. I know that feeling of how it is to be far from home and wanting to do something for your home. I think all of us take pride in how diverse our team is.”
Photo Credit: Layla French/UMBC Athletics