Rachel Allen
Journal Contributor
Freshman Maggie Hillman, 18, is not only a history major here at Suffolk, but she’s also ranked number three on the women’s volleyball team.
Hillman started playing volleyball in the fifth grade. Her father started a league in her hometown of Lawrence, MA, for middle school girls. From there, she played all four years at Central Catholic High School, where she was a Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic All-Star for Division 1. (She also played four years of varsity tennis.)
As a senior, Maggie served the important role as captain of her volleyball team, in addition to being the treasurer of her graduating class.
While playing in high school, Central Catholic won state championships twice, a title she is extremely proud of.
“I loved my high school team so much. I hoped [heading into college] the Suffolk team would be just like it,” she said.
Hillman said she was inspired to play the game by her older brothers, mainly her oldest brother Court, a graduate of Boston University. Her other older brother, Conor, is a senior at Syracuse and also plays on the men’s team there.
They still bump heads to this day, and when asked why she loved volleyball so much as a kid she said, “It was something I was finally better than my brothers at.” Because of that, volleyball had always been a family affair with the Hillmans.
She went on to explain that her favorite part of volleyball is diving. She feels a rush when she goes down and sees that the ball is up in the air because of her save. She also enjoys the team bonding and the intensity of playing each and every game.
While playing for the Suffolk Rams, she earned the nickname “Salty”. The name came from an incident that sent her to the hospital the second week of practices due to a salt deficiency. After her hospital visit Hillman has learned her lesson and always stays fully hydrated.
When asked about how the team has progressed this season, she echoed a positive vibe. The team is 8-13 overall, but can certainly expect to finish the year strong with the help of their talented freshman.
“They’re a family away from family,” she said of the team. As a result, the whole team shares an extremely close bond that Hillman seems to love.
Though the end of the season is coming, the hope is this close-knit group can make it to the state tournament. Because she has met some of her closest friends at Suffolk while on the volleyball team, she doesn’t want the season to end too quickly.
“The girls are all very welcoming and hardworking,” Hillman said. “College volleyball is more intense then high school, but I feel I’ve had more fun here.”
In the next three years with the Rams, Hillman would like the volleyball team to do well and for her passion for the game to still be burning. With the success she has already had, that doesn’t appear to be a problem.
After Suffolk Hillman would like to continue playing the game of volleyball. She plans to become a history teacher and a coach. Currently, Hillman works at a camp in the summer with her brothers coaching girls in middle school and high school.
