For the first time in school history, Hart will retire a volleyball jersey honoring the illustrious career and community work of alumna Erin Indermill.
Indermill’s No. 6 will forever be honored in the Indians’ gym and never be worn again after years of community service, humanitarian projects and of course a legendary career at Hart.
The alumna will be honored in a ceremony on Thursday night ahead of the Indians’ Foothill League matchup with the West Ranch Wildcats, the last two undefeated teams in the league.
The setter started all four years at Hart and set a program record with 683 assists in her senior year. Indermill picked up all-CIF honors, all-league selections and was presented with the Hart High School 4 x 4 Award, given to four-year varsity players who maintained a 4.0 grade-point average.
Hart coach Mary Irilian sees no one more deserving of being the first volleyball player to have their jersey retired at the school.
“I’m really honored to have coached her,” Irilian said in a phone interview. “She’s a very deserving athlete and person, great leader and obviously a great athlete. She is reliable and selfless.”
Indermill was a four-year member of the National Honor Society and graduated with a 4.42 GPA before continuing her academic and athletic career at CSUN. Undersized for her position, the former setter impressed former Olympic gold medalist and Matador head coach Jeff Stork with her athleticism.
The narrative was that if Indermill sharpened her skills, she could find playing time in the back row by her junior season. However, the Hart alumna impressed the coaches throughout the summer and season, earning her a ton of playing time as the Matador setter.
Indermill transitioned to defensive specialist during her sophomore season. Even though the former setter had never received serves before, she finished second in digs and assists for CSUN.
The defensive specialist was then moved back to setter in her senior season and, after two years away from the position, Indermill finished her collegiate career with the eighth most assists in CSUN history.
“It’s really exciting, not only for the school but for the girls’ volleyball program setting history,” Irilian said. “She’s now a part of a very small circle of athletes at Hart. There’s maybe a dozen athletes with jerseys retired.”
Off the court, Indermill has taken on numerous humanitarian projects, traveling to Costa Rica and Thailand. She has also served local elementary schools on top of her hundreds of hours of community service, earning Indermill the NCAA Big West Conference Student and Leadership Award.
The Hart alumna then earned her master’s degree at Coker University, while also assisting the women’s volleyball team. She currently works at Brown University as the assistant business office manager to the athletics department.
Indermill has impacted dozens of communities since departing Hart in 2015. Irilian wasn’t surprised at all to see her former star being honored.
“Not at all,” Irilian said when asked if she was surprised with how much Indermill has accomplished. “For someone undersized in this sport, she always embodied herself to be the tallest and strongest player out there and it was contagious. She always led the troops to do the same. She was pivotal for the program at the time and really led the younger players. She was an all-around great player.”
Indermill will be honored on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Hart High School just before seeing her alma mater take on West Ranch. For Irilian, this could only be the beginning of her former setter’s legacy.
“I’m very proud of her accomplishments and overall thrilled about her success and the legacy she’s leaving at Hart,” Irilian said. “It’ll stand for so much more especially as a female athlete and it’ll deliver a really positive message that you can be so much more as an athlete and give so much more. I think we’ll see more from her. I’m excited for what we’ll see from the program and from her moving forward.”
