Sports

Milford volleyball team feels loss of player detained by ICE

“Just like that, the whole day changed. Everyone’s mood changed,” said Gustavo da Silva, a junior who has known Gomes since elementary school. Some said they wanted to throw up. Others cried. Members of the Milford volleyball team walked up the driveway to meet with a TV news crew who had come to interview them […]

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2 months ago

June 3, 2025

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“Just like that, the whole day changed. Everyone’s mood changed,” said Gustavo da Silva, a junior who has known Gomes since elementary school.

Some said they wanted to throw up. Others cried.

Members of the Milford volleyball team walked up the driveway to meet with a TV news crew who had come to interview them at their team captain’s house where they had gathered to make shirts in support of their teammate Marcelo Gomes da Silva in Milford.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff

“I was very angry that I ended up ripping my shirt,” said Elias Leite, a sophomore who has also known Gomes since he arrived in the United States at age 6. The team’s coach took Leite outside and they cried together.

On Monday, the Milford teens walked out of school to urge officials to “free Marcelo.” Ahead of a Tuesday night playoff game against Taunton High School, the volleyball team gathered Monday evening to make T-shirts sharing their message about wanting Gomes to come home. They plan to wear them during their game warmup.

The home game starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday and a crowd of community members are expected to show their support for the team, and for Gomes.

Federal immigration agents detained Gomes on Saturday as the teen was headed to volleyball practice at the high school. He remains at a detention center in Burlington, his lawyer said Monday. ICE officials on Monday said Gomes was not their intended target. Instead, officers were looking for the teen’s father, said Patricia Hyde, field director of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston, on Monday at a news conference.

Hyde said Gomes was driving his father’s car and when agents didn’t find João Paulo Gomes Pereira, who they allege has driven recklessly in the community (something court records do not show), they detained Gomes instead.

Colin Greco, a senior and team captain, invited the players to his backyard to decorate white T-shirts with permanent markers and create their own designs. The teens sprawled the words “Free Marcelo” and “Free Marcie” across the white canvases they’ll sport tonight.

“Our goal is to share his story across the world,” Greco said. “He’s one of our brothers.”

The team is dedicating the game to Gomes and is hoping for a win.

Gomes is a player who has constant energy, Greco said.

“Lose a point, win a point, Marcelo is always on his toes. He’s always screaming, cheering, whether or not he’s on or off the court,” he said. “He’s the light of the team. Without him, it just kind of feels like a dark, empty room.”

The teens are trying to find justification for what happened to Gomes. On Tuesday afternoon, they watched a livestream of an ICE press conference.

“They were saying things that just weren’t related to Marcelo at all,” said Diego Santos, a junior who watched the livestream on his phone after he was done with school work.

Santos said he agrees people with serious criminal backgrounds should be arrested, but said that’s not the case for neither Gomes nor his father.

“He’s a good kid,” Santos said.

“Was his dad a murderer? Was his dad a drug dealer? Did he hurt people? No. No one hurt anybody. They’re good people. They have faith. They believe in God. They’re very religious people, and they always smile through everything,” he said.

Gustavo, the junior who has known Gomes since childhood, watched the livestream and didn’t like how officials talked about his friend.

“The guy referred to him as an alien,” he said. “He’s not an alien.”

For his teammates, Gomes is a good and loyal friend who is dedicated to athletics, church, and music.

“We’re missing such a core member of the crew,” said Jason Comisky, a senior. “He’s a really fun, upbeat guy. He’s always made my day.”

Marcela Rodrigues can be reached at marcela.rodrigues@globe.com.

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Nicasio Paquiz Jr. – Volleyball Coach

Nicasio Paquiz, Jr. begins his second season working as an assistant coach for Kim Berrington during the 2014 campaign. Paquiz brings over 19 years of coaching experience at NCAA Division I, elite club and high school (both girls and boys) levels. Paquiz comes to Ypsilanti from Houghton, Mich. where he was the top assistant and […]

Published

3 minutes ago

August 3, 2025

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Nicasio Paquiz, Jr. begins his second season working as an assistant coach for Kim Berrington during the 2014 campaign.

Paquiz brings over 19 years of coaching experience at NCAA Division I, elite club and high school (both girls and boys) levels. Paquiz comes to Ypsilanti from Houghton, Mich. where he was the top assistant and recruiting coordinator for the Huskies.

Prior to his time at Michigan Tech, the Chicago, Ill. native spent the 2011 season as an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay as well as serving as a volunteer assistant coach at DePaul University, in 2008-09.

Outside of his collegiate coaching experience, Paquiz spent nearly five years as the head coach of the First Alliance Volleyball Club in Western Springs, Ill. He coached both 17-and 18-year old classes, leading both squads to multiple top-placing finishes in national tournaments. As the master coach of the First Alliance 18 Silver squad, Paquiz led his team to a first place finish in the Great Lakes Power League in 2012. His 2009 squad posted a bronze medal at the AAU Junior Nationals and a ninth place finish at the Junior Volleyball Directors Association Championships.

In 2011, his 17 Silver squad was ranked as high as eighth in the PrepVolleyball.com national poll, while earning a gold medal at the Junior Volleyball Association’s World Challenge. His 17 Silver team earned a top-15 finish in the Great Lakes Power League’s Under-18 division.

Before taking the reigns at First Alliance, Paquiz spent over eight years of coaching in Southern California an area known for its volleyball. Paquiz served as head coach of the boy’s and girl’s teams at the Brentwood School in Los Angeles, Calif. and the head coach of the Santa Monica Beach Volleyball Club.

A 1998 graduate of the University of Illinois-Chicago, Paquiz spent three years (1995-97) playing club volleyball as a defensive specialist for UIC. He is also an avid beach player.

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Jet Sports Training Female Athlete of the Month: All-American track standout Michelle Rushing

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