Fern Asselin’s homegrown court, Fern Gully, has welcomed generations of players for more than 35 years.
LEWISTON, Maine — When most people think of a grandfather’s hobby, volleyball might not come to mind. But for Fern Asselin of Lewiston, it’s been at the heart of his life for decades.
“It’s just a lot of fun. I enjoy it a lot,” Fern said. “I never thought I would play for this many years but thank God I did.”
Fern doesn’t just play—he has a volleyball court unsuspectingly in the backyard of his Lewiston home, which he and his family dubbed Fern Gully. Open to players of all ages, the court has become a beloved gathering place for both competitive and casual play.
“Wonderful,” Fern said. “It’s my paradise.”
The tradition began about 35 years ago, when a group of neighborhood kids who always played in the Asselins’ yard decided they wanted to build a volleyball court.
“There’s about 25, 30 kids down there with picks and shovels and wheelbarrows, and they’re moving the dirt all over. I couldn’t believe it, I was shocked,” Fern said, laughing.
Rather than put a stop to it, Fern embraced it—and picked up volleyball himself at age 45.
“It turned out to be the greatest thing in my life, so I’m very thankful for that,” he said.
Now, multiple generations have played on the court.
“I’ve been coming since 1996,” player Joe Robitaille said. “It’s unreal the great times we’ve had here over the years.”
“We’re always there for each other and it’s really a tight-knit community,” Keith Levesque, another longtime Fern Gully player, said. “It just gets better every year, so I hope it keeps going.”
While Fern calls all of the players his kids, his biological family is part of the court, too—especially his granddaughter Toni. Fern said being able to play with Toni is a gift.
“That was the ultimate for me,” he explained. “She’s only 12 years old and she’s as good as half of them out there.”
Toni has played since she was five, learning from her grandfather.
“A lot of people don’t get to actually meet their grandfather, or they don’t get to hang out with them as much as I do, and it’s just like something I want to take in all the moments with, and I really enjoy it,” Toni said.
While it’s hard to believe while watching him play, Fern turns 80 years old this week. And with this milestone, he said he’s stepping back from the game.
“You gotta know when it’s time, and to me, at 80 years old, it’s time to quit,” he said.
While some aren’t convinced that Fern will ever stop playing, there’s no doubt that he’s been an inspiration for all of the volleyball players following in his path.
“I hope I can go as long as I live,” Toni said.
In Fern’s next chapter, he’s ready to enjoy watching the community he’s helped build.
“Definitely for years I want it to keep going. Even if I won’t be around, my daughters and my wife, they’ll just keep it going,” he said.
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SERIES HISTORY – MOUNT OLIVE • Penn State and Mount Olive will meet for the 12th time in the series history. • The Nittany Lions won the most recent meeting by a 3-1 score to open the 2018 season. That match was also played at Rec Hall. Calvin Mende hit .667 with 15 kills and three blocks in the win. Jalen Penrose hit .615 with 10 kills, two blocks, and four aces. • Every match in the series was played at Rec Hall. Penn State swept the first 10 before losing the one set in 2018.
Year
Winner
Score
Location
2005
Penn State
3-0
Rec Hall
2008
Penn State
3-0
Rec Hall
2009
Penn State
3-0
Rec Hall
2011
Penn State
3-0
Rec Hall
2012
Penn State
3-0
Rec Hall
2013
Penn State
3-0
Rec Hall
2014
Penn State
3-0
Rec Hall
2015
Penn State
3-0
Rec Hall
2016
Penn State
3-0
Rec Hall
2017
Penn State
3-0
Rec Hall
2018
Penn State
3-1
Rec Hall
PENN STATE VS. CONFERENCE CAROLINAS • Penn State is unbeaten at 19-0 all-time against current members of the Conference Carolinas. • The Nittany Lions have played six of the eight teams — Mount Olive (11-0), Lees-McRae (3-0), Erskine (2-0), Belmont Abbey (1-0), King (1-0), and North Greenville (1-0). • Penn State last played Conference Carolinas teams in 2024 when it swept both King and Lees-McRae.
HONOLULU – The second-ranked University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team continued its run of sweeps after a straight-set win over No. 7 Loyola Chicago Thursday in the first of two non-conference matches at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores were 25-18, 25-19, 25-15.
The Rainbow Warriors (3-0) made it three consecutive sweeps to start the season with another dominant showing. UH hit .426 for the match against one of the nation’s top teams and did not allow a service ace while recording seven of its own. Hawai’i held LUC to .172 hitting.
For the third straight match, Kristian Titriyski led the way with a team-high 11 kills, hitting .368. Adrien Roure added eight kills and Louis Sakanoko had six kills, four digs, and two blocks. Justin Todd had a career-high three aces – all during Set 2 – while Kainoa Wade came off the bench and served two aces during a late Set 3 run to close out the match.
Setter Tread Rosenthal dished out 26 assists with five kills of his own and three blocks. Trevell Jordan had four kills and a team-high four blocks.
The Ramblers (0-1) were led by Daniel Fabikovic’s 11 kills.
In Set 1, UH reeled off three straight for a 16-11 lead behind the tough serving by Todd. The lead was 19-13 after a Sakanoko ace. Hawai’i went on to hit .650 in the set despite committing an uncharacteristic seven service errors.
Todd’s three aces during a 6-0 run gave Hawai’i an 8-2 lead in Set 2. The Ramblers pulled within one at 15-14 but UH stretched its lead to four at 21-17. A pair of Loyola attack errors gave the Warriors set point at 24-18 and Titriyski’s 10th kill closed out the set.
UH took a 10-7 lead in Set 3 after back-to-back LUC errors. The Warriors extended their lead to 17-12 after a 6-2 run that included five Rambler errors. In all, LUC committed 10 attack errors in the third set and hit .000 and UH only needed eight kills to pull out the set.
The teams play again on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Bankoh Arena. Prior to the match, UH’s alumni will hold an all-alumni match at 4:00 p.m. Scheduled to participate are UH associate coach Kūpono Fey and Loyola Chicago assistant coach Dalton Solbrig.
PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s volleyball head coach Rob Neilson announced the hiring of assistant coach Chloe Hirst on Thursday afternoon.
Serving as the Aggies’ associate head coach for the last three seasons, Hirst was also an assistant coach during Neilson’s first three years in Logan. She helped USU to four Mountain West regular season titles and two Mountain West tournament titles.
Hirst was named a 2022 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 award winner. Utah State had 10 all-conference honorees, with one conference player of the year, during her tenure.
Prior to her time with the Aggies, Hirst was the director of operations at both Utah and Weber State, and she served as a head coach with Club V. An outside hitter at Idaho State from 2013-17, she earned All-Big Sky honors as a junior and senior.
Originally from Bountiful, Utah, Hirst prepped at Woods Cross High School. She has bachelor’s (2016) and master’s (2017) degrees in physical education from Idaho State as well as an MBA from Utah State (2023).
The St. Augustine Record selects its annual All-County team for the top high school volleyball players in St. Augustine and St. Johns County.
Beachside senior Adriana Jeanpierre is the Record’s player of the year for volleyball. Although her natural position is setter, she lined up as outside hitter for four years and led the Barracudas in attacking statistics on the way to the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 5A regional finals. She has signed with Mississippi State University for college volleyball.
FIRST TEAM
S Erica Duffy, Sr., Beachside
Old Dominion commit displayed versatility with 352 assists, 162 kills, 227 digs.
MB Molly Fitzpatrick, Sr., Bartram Trail
Led Bears with 256 kills, adding 53 aces and 39 blocks; committed to Georgia College and State.
S Haydin Froehlich, Sr., Ponte Vedra
Prolific setter delivered 748 assists, plus 163 digs, 39 blocks, 43 aces, 51 kills; committed to North Florida.
OH Adriana Jeanpierre, Sr., Beachside
Delivered thunderous kills (367, .255 hitting percentage) with 275 digs, 31 blocks; headed to Mississippi State as setter.
MB Lily Keeley, Jr., Ponte Vedra
Wofford commit is a force at the net, with 202 kills (.347 hitting percentage) and 45 blocks.
L Isabella Taveras Seda, Jr., Beachside
Active libero finished with 495 digs, 63 assists; committed to Tampa.
S Mollie VanDeusen, Jr., Beachside
Florida State commit may be area’s most versatile player; 419 assists, 205 kills, 332 digs and 52 aces for Barracudas.
L Avery Webb, Sr., Ponte Vedra
Among Northeast Florida’s best in the back row with 350 digs, 47 assists, 50 aces; committed to Virginia Tech.
SECOND TEAM
S Jordan Gilbreath, Sr., Bartram Trail
OH Gracie Gorman, Sr., Tocoi Creek
OH Sophia Hayes, Sr., Nease
S Emi Mejia, Jr., St. Augustine
L Avery Misora, Sr., Bartram Trail
OH Amra Mulalic, Jr., Menendez
OH Jayden Roberts, Sr., Beachside
RS Vivi Woodbury, So., Ponte Vedra
Honorable mention
OH Parker Bradley, Fr., Bartram Trail; L Mel Carey, Jr., Tocoi Creek; MB Ellie Decker, Sr., Ponte Vedra; MB Tahlya Joyner, So., Bartram Trail; MB Keani Murray, Sr., Beachside; OH Jessie Rot, Sr., Menendez; S Brielle Rivers, Jr., Bartram Trail; OH Emma Campbell Strickland, Sr., St. Joseph; S Suzi Valbuena, Jr., St. Joseph; MB Neyzza Vega, Sr., St. Joseph; S Madie Wengert, Jr., Tocoi Creek.
It was another quick night of work for the No. 2 Hawaii men’s volleyball team, which swept No. 7 Loyola Chicago 25-18, 25-19, 25-15 tonight at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
A crowd of 4,488 watched Hawaii (3-0) overwhelm the Ramblers (0-1) from start to finish.
Kristian Titriyski had a match-high 11 kills and Adrien Roure added eight kills for the Rainbow Warriors, who hit .426 as a team.
Middle blocker Justin Todd had three aces and sophomore Kainoa Wade had two aces late in the third set making his season debut.
Hawaii closed out the match on a 7-1 run.
The teams will play again on Friday night at 7.
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The 2026 edition of Major League Volleyball action opens up on Thursday night, and among those participating in this season’s action are six former Florida Gators who will represent the Orange and Blue in the nine-team league.
A pair of alumnae from the 2017 national championship team, Carli Snyder and Rhamat Alhassan, will join forces once again on the Grand Rapids Rise; another pair of UF teammates, Anna Dixon and Elli McKissock, have a spot on Atlanta Vibe’s roster. Meanwhile, former Vibe star Marlie Monserez will miss out on playing with those two former Gators, having signed with the San Diego Mojo after leading Atlanta’s offense the past two seasons.
After making her professional debut with Indy Ignite last season, Isabel Martin will join the Dallas Pulse in its inaugural campaign.
The Vibe hosts both of their opening-weekend matches: the Columbus Fury on Thursday and the Rise on Sunday. As for Snyder and Alhassan, it will be their first professional return to Florida when Grand Rapids debuts against the Orlando Valkyries on Friday.
Monserez makes her Mojo debut on Thursday on the road against the Omaha Supernovas before returning to the Sunshine State on Sunday to face the Valkyries; Martin faces her former team on Saturday in the Pulse’s first-ever match — a home opener against her former team, the Ignite.
About Major League Volleyball 2026
Major League Volleyball is the longest-running formal professional volleyball league for women in the United States and is now entering its third season. Designed to elevate the sport through world-class competition, commercial innovation, and cultural relevance, MLV brings together elite athletes, visionary leadership and global ambition. With alignment to USA Volleyball and a commitment to Olympic development, MLV serves as the premier pathway from professional play to the world stage.
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