Sisters Madison and Maia Nichols Headed to National Beach Volleyball Tournament

nichols beach volleyball
Maia Nichols with the bump as sister Madison looks on.
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By Grant Clark

edge fitness logoHolly Nichols used to joke about needing a timeshare in California. Trips to the Golden State, however, have become more frequent, turning the once punchline into a likely possibility.

“We would always kid around about it,” Holly said, “but lately it doesn’t sound like that bad of an idea.”

Credit beach volleyball, and her two daughters’ success in the sport, for the change of heart.

The Pacific Northwest offers plenty of outdoor activities. Beach volleyball is not one that immediately springs to mind.

beach volleyball nichols
Madison and Maia Nichols qualified for the BVCA championships in Hermosa Beach, California on July 7-9 by winning their division at a regional tournament June 21 at Alki Beach.

That didn’t prevent Holly’s daughters Maia, 13, and Madison, 12, from taking up the sport, and despite the minimal availability of local sand, after only a few years the Olympia duo have transformed into one of the region’s top tandems, forcing mom to rethink that whole timeshare thing.

If you want to compete on the national level, you have to go where the sand is; and that’s exactly where the Nichols are headed.

“It’s going to be a volleyball summer,” said Holly, who also owns Discover Aquatics, a private swimming pool in West Olympia.

The Nichols sisters will compete against the nation’s best at the Beach Volleyball Clubs of America National Championship in Hermosa, California July 7-9 before making a second trip south a month later to participate at the AVPFirst Manhattan Beach Junior Invitational Aug. 10-14.

“It’s exciting to go down there and play,” Madison said. “You see a lot of teams from California. Not too many from Washington.”

Madison and Maia had been playing indoor volleyball for several years before making the transition to sand; and while to the outsider it looks like a subtle change, the differences in indoor volleyball and beach volleyball are substantial.

nichols beach volleyball
Madison and Maia Nichols say that competing on the sand is much more challenging than indoor volleyball. The sisters are pictured here during tournament play at Alki Beach on June 21.

The court sizes are different, there’s fewer players per side, no attack line, different volleyballs, and above all you go from the stability of a gym floor to the awkwardness of moving on sand, which is usually hot, while trying to navigate through whatever weather conditions are thrown your way.

“It’s definitely harder to jump on sand,” Maia said. “You have to do much more maneuvering. So, your footwork is important. It’s way easier to move indoors.”

Beach volleyball’s popularity has spiked over the last decade, especially among female competitors, with players like Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh leading the recent surge by winning gold medals in the sport at the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Summer Olympics.

But Madison and Maia face one major obstacle not present in more traditional beach volleyball markets.

“There’s not a lot of beach around here. I’ve told my husband the next time we move we need to find a house that has some sand,” Holly said. “They mostly practice indoors. In fact, the only time they really play on sand is when they go to tournaments.”

That’s basically the equivalent to playing hockey without ever stepping onto the ice except during games.

The lack of sand time, however, has done little to slow down Madison and Maia’s progress.

The sisters won the future select division of the U14 Puget Sound Region Beach High Performance Qualifier on May 31 in Snohomish, before securing their berth into the AVPFirst Junior Invitational at Manhattan Beach.

On June 21, they took first place in their division at a tournament in Alki Beach in Seattle to qualify for July’s BVCA championships in Hermosa.

nichols beach volleyball
Maia Nichols with the bump as sister Madison looks on.

Beach volleyball is among a long list of sports Madison and Maia have experienced over the years. Swimming, basketball, soccer, tennis, and even taekwondo have also been attempted, but none had the effect on them beach volleyball did.

“Usually it’s our dad getting us to try new things,” Madison said. “My mom asked if we wanted to give (beach volleyball) a try, just try it and have fun with it. I’ve loved it since the first time we started playing.”

Their interest in the sport originally came from Holly, who played Division I volleyball in college at San Jose State University; and while she always encourages her daughters to participate in multiple sports, it always seems to come back to volleyball.

Holly would eventually coach her daughters indoor, but once the game steps outside, she is merely a spectator cheering them on.

“I just let them play when its beach volleyball,” Holly said. “They’re calling the timeouts.  They’re out there to encourage each other. I just sit back and watch.”

Despite the occasional sibling rivalry, celebrations have been a much more common site on the beach for the two.

“Obviously, one of the big concerns for me is having them get burned out at such a young age. Every time we get into the car, I turn around and say, ‘We don’t have to do this. We can do something else this weekend,’” Holly said. “Every time I ask, they say this is where they want to be.”

 

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