GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Whenever Mireya Garcia would watch her daughter, Mayda, play in club volleyball tournaments, she always had the same reaction.
“Nah, she’s not tall enough,” Mireya said. “She can’t do this.”
Mayda was plenty good enough to dominate the Valley at McAllen Rowe, earning All-Valley Player of the Year in 2014 and an All-Area first team nod in 2015, plus two District 30-6A MVP awards.
But being able to play in college, especially at the Division I level, was a different challenge for the 5-foot-9 outside hitter.
As time went on, trainers and coaches started to tell her she might be up to the task. Eventually, college scouts started to feel the same way.
On Wednesday, Mayda made it official, signing a letter of intent to accept a full scholarship to play at Division I Fairfield University in Connecticut.
“She’s going to be competing against other very, very good athletes,” Rowe coach Magda Canales said. “But I know she’s going to step it up, like she’s always done.”
Mayda held her ceremony in Rowe’s gym, surrounded by family, coaches and teammates from both volleyball and basketball.
She addressed the room from a podium for about a minute, thanking everyone who helped her get to this point, before signing the national letter of intent and posing for photos.
“I’m ready to leave, that’s for sure,” Mayda said. “It’s amazing seeing everyone here and supporting me, and I can’t thank them enough.”
Mayda ultimately received three Division I offers, also considering Prairie View A&M and Incarnate Word.
To reach a decision, Mayda said she weighed everything, making lists of pros and cons for each school to cover athletics, academics, class sizes and even the weather.
She said the visit to Fairfield around the start of March was what really won her over. Even the drive up Interstate 95 from New York to campus was a selling point.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is just beautiful,’” Mayda said. “It’s totally different from the Valley. It’s totally different from what I’m used to seeing. And I got on campus, did a tour, met the girls, and everything was just wonderful. I loved it there. I knew before I even left: I’m coming here.”
Mayda enters Fairfield ready to play any position, having worked some at setter and defensively this season after playing mostly outside hitter and middle blocker.
Fairfield hasn’t suffered a losing season since 2010, winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship to advance to the NCAA Tournament in 2012, 2013 and 2015.
“That’s amazing to me,” Mayda said. “I can’t wait to be a part of that one day.”
She first got connected to Fairfield during a match with her club team, when one of the school’s coaches was there to scout one of her teammates.
Canales expects that Mayda will be able to carve out a role the same way she did at Rowe: by always being the first one there and the last one to leave. That mentality will also help Mayda off the court, as she plans to study biology before shifting her focus to physical therapy.
“We’re filled with a lot of enthusiasm, and we want to always win,” Mayda said of her new teammates. “I think that’s how I want to come in there — just working hard.”