Volleyball takes time out to visit Ground Zero memorial
Most of the volleyball team was between kindergarten and third grade when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center.
Earlier this season, the team took time out of its busy schedule to visit the reality of the tragic events during its trip to New York for the Hofstra Invitational.
Head coach Erik Olson made it a priority to visit the memorial, especially considering the team was in New York just days after the 12th anniversary of the attacks.
“It was one of the more powerful places I’ve ever been,” Olson said. “I wasn’t prepared for the emotional impact that it brought. The memorial’s just incredible. You can’t do it justice to describe it. You need to experience it yourself.”
The 9/11 Memorial site features two acre-sized reflecting pools where the twin towers stood with the largest manmade waterfalls in North America. The pools lie in the shadow of the 104-story One World Trade Center, which is still under construction.
“The middle of the pools was kind of like an eternal waterfall,” said junior outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntyre. “You couldn’t see the bottom. I thought that was really neat, just as if they were going on forever.”
Sophomore middle blocker Angie White says it was moving to hear assistant coach Mitch Kallick’s perspective on the experience.
“It was very moving to hear coach Mitch explain and talk about his experience,” White said. “He got a little emotional, but I think it brought our team together to see him get vulnerable with us.”
Kallick is graduate of New York University, which is based in New York City, and graduated in 2002, one year after the tragic events.
Even though many students were young when the tragedy occurred, many still remember that day vividly.
“On 9/11, I was actually in third grade and I remember going to an afterschool room,” White said. “I went to the room and they just told us, ‘your parents are coming to pick you up,’ and I had no idea what was going on. My mom eventually picked me up and explained what was going on. I honestly don’t think I had any emotion at the time because I didn’t understand what was going on, but as I’ve grown, it’s hit me a lot harder every year.”
Olson says the team hasn’t had a chance to debrief the experience and says most people are still processing the emotion of the experience.
“It honestly uttered you speechless,” Olson said. “And to see that new building, that’s the highest building in the United States, rebuilt is pretty symbolic of a lot. It’s not even finished yet, but you see that towering over the hole. You can take us down, but we’re going to rebuild.”
White and McIntyre agreed that this shared experience the team has will bring the team together moving forward.
“It was a very humbling day for a lot of us to be thankful for what we have and for each other,” McIntyre said. “It was a very cool day. Sad, but very cool.”
