Hart alumna Erin Indermill became the first volleyball player in school history to have her jersey retired on Thursday.
Indermill was honored in a ceremony before the Indians’ Foothill League match with West Ranch.
“It’s a huge honor,” Indermill said. “I grew up coming to games watching my cousins play, my sister play, and so thinking now that maybe these players might have come to see me play is kind of surreal to think about, but I’m hoping it lays the groundwork for volleyball players to look beyond volleyball too, and just use it as a means to explore what they love and take on adventures the way I was able to.”
Hart head coach Mary Irilian and CSUN volleyball coach Noelle Rooke both spoke on the character and work ethic of Indermill before handing off the microphone to their former player.
Irilian used to console her four-year setter about matters on and off the court.
“I remember she used to pull me aside and kind of help with not just volleyball but the off-court stuff and my leadership,” Indermill said. “She definitely would talk to me about stuff I was saying to the team and try to help me figure out what my voice was. She helped build me up as a leader, which definitely helped me in my CSUN career and now after school, too.”
The former Hart setter held back emotions, saying she didn’t think that many would show up for her jersey retirement. However, the Hart faithful showed up in support of Indermill and a marquee league match.
Indermill had too many favorite memories with the Indians to list but cited the everyday grind of playing with friends as the best part of her high school career.
“Every day you get to come in and play with your best friends,” Indermill said. “It’s not often that you get that experience being on a high school team and all the shenanigans running around campus before game starts or getting our pregame burrito from the snack bar. Just basically all the fun stuff.”
At Hart, the setter set a new single-season record for assists with 683 in 2014. She left the program as a decorated all-CIF and all-Foothill League setter. Indermill also shined in the classroom and was one of very few to be presented the Hart High School 4 x 4 Award, a prestigious honor given to four-year varsity players who maintained a 4.0 grade-point average throughout high school.
Since graduating, the Hart alumna solidified herself in CSUN women’s volleyball history, has given hundreds of hours to humanitarian and community service work, and graduated with a master’s degree from Coker University. She is grateful for all of the coaches, teachers and professors who have guided her along the way.
“I’m very, very lucky,” Indermill said. “I had great advisors and great coaches in college that encouraged me to apply to these service trips, and that dragged me to Costa Rica, Thailand and Big Bear, all these fun experiences. Eventually it opened my eyes to a bigger world, which led me to South Carolina and now Rhode Island.”
Indermill bounced around from defensive specialist to setter but still finished her collegiate career with the eighth most assists in CSUN women’s volleyball history.
Indermill’s No. 6 jersey now sits in the Hart Hall of Fame, where she joins soccer player Erin Misaki as the only two female athletes in school history to be honored with a jersey retirement.
The setter is thrilled to work closely with the sport she loves. Indermill currently works at Brown University Athletics and serves as the assistant business office manager. Indermill’s playing days may be over but her future around the sport and in community service may just be beginning.
“I’m still working in athletics,” Indermill said. “I work in the business office at my school and so not only most specifically but I am in the gym for every single game. I love watching our team there. They play this weekend but currently they’re 7-0 so I definitely still want to watch volleyball. I can’t get enough of it. But as far as playing goes, my playing days are over. But I will always be a huge Hart volleyball supporter and I might end up coaching or getting back into the game in some way or another.”
