Early Sunday morning at a SMASH club practice at South, sophomore Sasha Selivan leaps up into midair to hit an incoming volleyball. 

Sasha Selivan’s blazingly supportive attitude and observant nature make her stand out as both an athlete and a person, sparking admiration and respect from those surrounding her. 

As the setter for the girls’ volleyball team, a position often compared to the quarterback of a football team, Sasha Selivan controls the course of the game by putting up balls for hitters. This season, Sasha Selivan played an instrumental role in helping the team achieve its 3-time state championship. She was awarded Athlete of the Year as a freshman, and has since earned All-Scholastic, MAVCA All-State team, and Bay State All-Conference. Outside of North, on top of playing for SMASH, one of the top clubs in New England, Sasha Selivan has trained in the USAV’s beach national team development program, as well as highly selective summer volleyball training camps. She was also recently named by Gatorade as the Massachusetts Volleyball Player of the Year and achieved 1,000 assists this season. 

“She’s naturally nonjudgemental, and people are drawn to her because they feel comfortable and valued in her presence,” said Elena Selivan, Sasha’s mother. “Her observant nature has further strengthened her ability to read the game and make smart decisions under pressure.”

At eight years old, Sasha Selivan began her volleyball career as the youngest member in the ten-and-under team at the club SMASH. Her training at SMASH has helped her become a better player for North’s season by giving her the opportunity to receive coaching after the North season ends, compete in tournaments, and play with different teammates, according to Selivan.

“Her physical strength and accuracy stand out for a setter her age, as does her consistency,” said Konst Dimov, who coaches Sasha Selivan on the SMASH team. “Because of her work ethic and humility, it is easy for her to earn the respect of those around her.”

According to Sasha Selivan, she dabbled in many different sports when she was younger, but her favorite sport is volleyball because of the bonds she has formed with her teammates. 

“I’ll always have a team and a bunch of girls who become like my sisters and we struggle together, we suffer together, we have our big eyes in the game together,” said Sasha Selivan. “Those are people that I’m going to remember and have that bond with for the rest of my life.” 

At the SMASH practice, Sasha Selivan brings positive energy to her teammates by high-fiving them and congratulating teammates who received a challenging throw, holding up the net for her teammates switching court.

“Her greatest strength is how she always gets to the ball and the location of her sets,” said Fox. “She uplifts her players, and she is always in good spirits.” 

Sasha Selivan added that the greatest strength of North’s volleyball team is its emphasis on values and treating each other like a big family. 

“Before the season actually starts, we write on the whiteboard in the gym, all of our goals,” she said. “We value working together and holding yourself accountable and being kind to everyone.” 

Team bonding time, such as team dinners or bonding time before and after practices, contributes to the close and authentic relationships between team members, according to Sasha Selivan.

“She’s an amazing teammate,” said senior Brianna Milliken, a member of the girls’ volleyball team at North. “She always has a smile on her face and is never brought down by any bad play.”  

Sasha Selivan added that a highlight for the girls’ volleyball team this season was its three-time state championship win, where the Tigers defeated Brookline, the only team that managed to win against them during the regular season. 

“We wanted to come out really strong, and that’s what we did,” said Sasha Selivan. “I just remember the feeling of knowing that we were all playing really well.” She added that she was proud of her serving during the championship game, which was a skill she had been working on all season. 

“She set really well, and she got some big kills and some moments,” said Nile Fox, the head coach of girls’ volleyball at North. 

Sasha Selivan added that a challenge she has been working to overcome on the North team is adjusting her setting for the different hitters on her team, who are different heights and therefore different reaches. 

Despite always looking to benefit her teammates, Selivan opts to listen to music before big away games. According to Sasha Selivan, all of the varsity players sit in the back of the bus, singing and dancing to music, yet she chooses to bring her own headphones to listen to her own music. 

“I just sit against the window and look outside and listen to music, same thing every time,” said Sasha Selivan. “I’ll think about things I want to focus on before I play.”

Sasha Selivan’s family has been a huge support system throughout her volleyball career, she added.

“I have a pretty good startup family, my dad is a trainer,” said Sasha Selivan. “My mom used to be a nutritionist, and now she works in the Natick Volleyball facility, so I can go play there whenever. My sister played, so she helps me sometimes too.” 

When asked to describe herself in three words, Sasha Selivan chose, “weird, bubbly, and random.” Outside of playing volleyball, she enjoys reading fantasy and is working towards a personal goal of being more organized.

According to Elena Selivan, Sasha’s greatest personal strength is her kindness and ability to listen to others, which has helped her be viewed as an equal even when she was the youngest on her volleyball team by a significant age gap. 

According to Sasha Selivan, playing a team sport where communication is essential has helped her work better with different people. She added that volleyball has also helped her become more resilient due to the intense coaching that helps her improve, with one example being a coach who would yell at her in front of everyone when she was eleven. 

“She was like, ‘you can just leave, I won’t be mad about it.’ I never left,” said Sasha Selivan. 

Sasha Selivan also credits her success as a setter to her fast reaction time and her ability to “play smart.” 

“For my position as a setter, it’s really important to know why you do everything,” said Sasha Selivan. “I have to have a strong reason for why I do everything, and I tend to be pretty good at that.” 

According to Sasha Selivan, her personal highlight this season was achieving 1,000 assists, a feat that is rarely achieved by volleyball players in high school. 

“That’s how many balls I put up that my hitters get kills on,” said Selivan, who added that working with her teammates during practice and improving her consistency contributed towards the personal accomplishment. 

Ultimately, Selivan’s hard work and dedication to her sport provides inspiration and motivation to those with the privilege of knowing her.

Selivan’s next step in her volleyball career is to continue playing volleyball in college and then play professionally after. The earliest she can commit to a college is June 15, 2025, so she has been emailing colleges to demonstrate interest. 

Short-term goals of Selivan’s include earning Gatorade Player of the Year again, committing to a respected college, and being named a part of the USAV National Team Development Program. Selivan, determined and persistent, will undoubtedly reach great heights in her future.