Yet, in doing so, Perry (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa) made history.
“The Yale men’s water polo team has been around officially in the system since 1964, and through that whole time, I’ve been the first woman to ever play on that team. So it’s very much an honour for me.”
The Kiwi athlete, now 22, returned to Auckland last month after graduating, taking time to reflect on her experience as a student athlete at the prestigious Ivy League school in Connecticut.
Violette Perry was mistaken for a physiotherapist when she first arrived at the pool for the men’s Yale water polo team. Photo / Michael Craig
Recruited for her exceptional academic and athletic abilities, Perry spent four years at Yale balancing the intense demands of elite sport and rigorous study.
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Yet the path to an Ivy League education was anything but straightforward.
Born and raised in Bangkok until the age of 7, her Kiwi parents quickly learned of her natural sporting ability.
“It’s normal [in Bangkok] to be really good at one sport and do that really hardcore. I was quite good at swimming, and I was quite tall over there for a child.”
Perry’s family moved back to her mother’s hometown of Christchurch not long before the 2010 earthquakes. But the damaged sports facilities in the South Island city affected Perry’s desire to grow as an athlete.
She moved to Auckland, boarding at St Cuthbert’s College for her last two years of high school, where she focused on water polo and athletics, specialising in javelin, discus and shot put. She also excelled in science, finishing top of her class in chemistry.
It was at St Cuthbert’s where Perry explored the option of college in the United States before she was recruited to Yale to study a Bachelor of Economics.
Kiwi Violette Perry graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor’s degree in economics and supplementary coursework in computer programming.
She told the Herald she had never considered a scholarship to America until colleges began contacting her in Year 12. Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Brown, University of Pennsylvania and Cornell all offered Perry places in their programmes, which made the possibility a reality.
She said the balance of school and sport was what attracted her to Yale.
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“I can confidently say that going to Yale was by far the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.”
“I’ve been quite frustrated by the whole connotation around student athletes – that you can’t succeed in both academics and athletics. At Yale, all the students really defy that and everyone is brilliant both academically and athletically. That’s something that I really love about school.”
Perry became the first in three generations of her whānau to attend university – let alone at an Ivy League school – marking a significant milestone for her family.
“My Māori grandmother never had the opportunity to go to school at all, neither my dad or any of his eight siblings finished high school or went to university.
“It was crazy because you don’t hear about people going to these schools, and then, let alone two generations passed.
“That, I was very proud of.”
Two years into her time at Yale, Perry shifted her focus entirely to water polo after a shoulder injury ended her track and field career.
By the end of her sophomore year, she caught the attention of the men’s team coach. He saw potential in her abilities, knowing she could add value to the men’s side.
Violette Perry: ‘Going to Yale was by far the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.’
“The women’s team had a practice one weekend, and the men’s coach was there early for the men’s practice. Then he saw me training and he asked if I wanted to come join the men’s practice afterwards.
“I ended up just training with them at all of their practices and then we were able to get dispensation for me to play.”
Playing in the New England Division of the Collegiate Water Polo Association, she described it as a “crazy and unique experience”.
Perry told the Herald that playing in the men’s competition amplified the physical aspects of the already notoriously brutal sport.
She said the men’s game relied more on “brute strength” as there was “significantly more body contact and physical battling for position”.
Despite being the outlier, having to get ready for games in different changing rooms and having different physical abilities and strengths, her coach and teammates treated her with the same respect as anyone else, she said.
Violette Perry: ‘My teammates were so kind, they’re like my family.’
“My teammates were so kind, they’re like my family.”
Perry said that when it came to academia, she felt the cut-throat nature of an Ivy League school.
“It is very competitive, especially grades-wise.
“Everyone is their high-school valedictorian and it’s a bunch of A-plus personality people in one classroom.”
However, she said she never felt she had to choose between sport and study, given the school’s academic support system.
She would take early morning classes at Yale, leaving the afternoons and evenings free for training. During track and field season, she trained from 4pm-7pm on weekdays with weekend competitions then for water polo had evening pool sessions from 8pm-10pm four times a week, “plus intensive Saturday sessions where I’d train back-to-back with both the men’s and women’s teams”.
With her first-hand experience playing competitive sport alongside men, Perry was supportive of moves to exclude transgender women’s exclusion in top-flight female sports.
“While I deeply respect transgender individuals and support their inclusion in society, competitive sport presents unique challenges,” Perry said.
“The biological advantages from testosterone development are significant enough that even the most elite female athletes may struggle to compete on equal terms.”
She said it isn’t about discrimination, more so about preserving the competitive integrity that separate categories were designed to ensure.
Violette Perry said that when it came to academia, she felt the cut-throat nature of an Ivy League school.
Perry’s lessons from Dame Jacinda Ardern
Perry told the Herald that her graduation couldn’t have been more meaningful, as Dame Jacinda Ardern, the former New Zealand Prime Minister, addressed Perry’s graduating class.
As both Ardern and Perry excelled in male-dominated fields, Ardern’s presence at the ceremony, where she talked of the power of humility that comes with impostor syndrome, added a thoughtful parallel to Perry’s journey.
“She’s incredible, and what I remember the most about meeting her is how deeply personable she was,” Perry told the Herald. “I think that very much speaks volumes to her as a leader.”
She was one of the 12 lucky New Zealanders from the graduating class who met Ardern ahead of her speech with the entire year group.
She said Ardern asked the Kiwis if they were “disappointed she was chosen as the guest speaker”, but she and her peers responded adamantly: “Obviously not.”
Violette Perry (left) pictured at Yale University with Dame Jacinda Ardern.
“My friends were all so excited.
“Despite how much she’s achieved on such a global scale, she managed to make everyone in that room, all 12 of us, feel very seen and heard – and I think that’s really beautiful.
“It definitely speaks to how she’s not just a leader in the sense of making very big decisions, but also how she interacts with people in the smallest moments.
“I think that’s very much a quality of a very strong leader.”
Perry said she learned through Ardern the importance of how to act around others.
“It’s not just how you are on the big stage. She was the same on that stage as she was with us in that tiny room, and I think that’s a really important way to be.
“Being New Zealanders, we are very renowned for our humility and also our sense of community – and you can feel that from her, and it made me realise that in myself.”
Now back in Tāmaki-Makaurau Auckland, Perry is reconnecting with family while competing in the national water polo league for the Sea Wolves, all while planning her next steps.
Aware of the limited financial opportunities in the sport in Aotearoa, she has decided to prioritise her career, with plans to move to Sydney later this year for a role in management consulting.
Violette Perry: ‘If you’re a woman and you’re looking at going into a men’s league, don’t be intimidated by it.’ Photo / Michael Craig
As she steps into the next phase of her life, Perry is advocating for greater adaptability in male-dominated spaces and sports teams.
She said her experience playing for the Yale men’s water polo team was a success, given the inclusive environment where she was fully recognised and supported.
“It’s definitely less about females moulding into a certain way to fit into a pre-existing men’s water polo league and more just them creating space for people like me to come in.
“The league that I played in did that very well and I definitely think if you’re a woman and you’re looking at going into a men’s league, don’t be intimidated by it.
“I got a lot better as a player, I got a lot stronger – and there are a lot of benefits that came out of that.”
Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist in the NZME sports team. She was named New Zealand’s Best Up and Coming journalist in 2025. She’s a football commentator and co-host of the Football Fever podcast and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme before becoming a fulltime journalist.
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.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
PROVO, Utah — BYU director of athletics Brian Santiago officially introduced Rob Neilson as the seventh head coach in BYU women’s volleyball program history on Thursday morning.
BYU director of athletics Brian Santiago’s opening statement “On behalf of BYU Athletics, this is an exciting day for the future of BYU women’s volleyball, and it’s my privilege to introduce to you Rob Neilson as our new head women’s volleyball coach. We were just talking a minute ago about the fact that he’s home. He talked about being at the basketball game last night, and said, ‘man, it’s amazing how many people that I know’. And I said, ‘because you’re home, this is you, this is your place. Your blood, sweat and tears are right here on this floor, and you helped us hang one of those banners up there as a national champion.’ We’re super grateful to welcome you back to BYU, Rob, especially with Sarah, your sweet wife, and your children. You’re part of our family and our BYU family, and we couldn’t be more excited.”
“We’re also super excited for you to lead these incredible young women that are over here on the side. These are some of the most remarkable student athletes anywhere in the country, and we’re super grateful that the program is in such a strong position as we segue into the future of BYU women’s volleyball. We’re grateful to have your parents here. Thank you, it’s a pleasure to have you be here, and you’re part of our family as well.”
“I just want you to turn around for a second, Rob. You’re going to see it in just a second. You’ve got coaches and support staff across this way that are super excited to welcome you into the family. The future of BYU volleyball is strong. We have a top-15 program. In a lot of situations when there’s transition, you’re building and you’ve got to start from scratch, but we’re super fortunate that our volleyball program is in such a strong position, and we’re super grateful for the leadership that the volleyball program has had in the last 10 years, the fact that we have such a strong program that’s nationally relevant as we continue to chase greatness and do it the BYU way. We’re grateful that we get to do it from a position of strength, and it starts every day with these incredible young women. So on behalf of all of us at BYU, let’s welcome our new head women’s volleyball coach, Rob Nielsen.”
BYU women’s volleyball head coach Rob Neilson’s opening statement “It is good to be home. It is the honor of a lifetime to get to coach at this university that I love so much, on this court, in this venue that is the best volleyball venue in the entire country. I love BYU, and I love BYU volleyball. Thank you to the Board of Trustees, President Shane Reese, Vice President Vorkink, Brian Santiago and Chad Lewis, for your trust and for the opportunity. This is amazing, and I go way back. I’ve known Brian for 25 years. President Reese used to come into our practices when he was a statistics professor and run regressions and analyzes on how we could play the game better 25 years ago. We’d play a volleyball match, and Chad Lewis, this Super Bowl champion and Pro Bowl tight end, would come up to me outside the Student Athlete Building and say ‘Rob, you just played the most amazing match.’ And I think, first of all, how are you watching our matches? And secondly, how do you know who I am and remember my name, and it’s just an incredible group of leadership. I’m so honored to be led by you and supported by you, and I can’t wait to begin.”
“BYU volleyball has an incredible legacy from from Carl (McGown) to Tom (Peterson), to Chris McGown, to Shawn (Olmstead), now on the men’s side, and then, of course, the women’s side, from Elaine (Michaelis), to Jason (Watson), to Shawn (Olmstead) on the women’s side, and to Heather (Olmstead). There is an incredible legacy here to build on, and I’m so excited to be able to push it forward. What an honor to be able to build on what amazing athletes and coaches have built here. Some of the greatest coaches in the nation have come from BYU volleyball. I just want to say thank you to the mentors of mine in the game, obviously, Carl and Chris McGown, John Speraw, Mike Wilton and Hugh McCutcheon. I’ve been honored to be around some of the greatest coaches in volleyball history, and they’ve taught me what championship culture and process looks like. I hope some of that is rubbed off, and I’m excited to share it with our our team.”
“Every BYU coach that’s here and that’s not here. I’m amazed to watch the phenomenal things that are happening around this athletic department. We’re winning in every sport at a high level, and doing it with amazing people that have and share amazing values. I can’t wait to learn from you and be with you and cheer you guys on as you go and do amazing things. Thank you to the amazing staff members. I keep telling people, I’ve met 40 people in the last two days that have an influence over our program and first off, it’s amazing that we have so much support. I’m amazed at the support that we have here at BYU. But of those 40 people I know, 30 of them from 10 years ago that are still around, and it’s just been an amazingly beautiful reunion. It just it feels like home everywhere that I turn.”
“It’s not lost on me that I get to live my dream because of the blood, sweat and tears of our athletes and staff at Utah State, and because of the support of the administration and the community that was so amazing. I love the spot where the sagebrush grows. I’m going to miss it. Sarah and I poured our hearts into that community, and the abundance of love that we got in return is something that we will never forget. I’ve had multiple opportunities to leave there for some big time opportunities, and every time I stayed, more and more I realized that it would take somewhere truly special to tear me away from that spot and this is that place. It’s our promise, Sarah, and mine, that we will pour our hearts into this town, this community, this department, to this fan base and and to these athletes. Loving these women and mentoring them to be the best that they can possibly be, to fulfill their divine potential, their limitless potential, is our directive, and it’s our aim.
“To my incredible wife, I love you, Sarah, to our children, Etta, Liam, Charlotte, Whit and Lois, thank you for your support and your sacrifices that allow me to go chase my dreams. You’re absolutely the best part of who I am.”
“I’m excited for the incredible staff that I get to work with. Thrilled to announce that we just hired Chloe Hirst, who was our associate head coach at Utah State, and so excited to work with her. She is all time good. Together we’ll recruit the best Latter-day Saint players, the best non-Latter-day Saint players, the best international players, playing in front of the ROC, in the best venue in the country, is where many of the best athletes in the country will want to be. We’re going to bring the best teams to play against us in Provo in big time non-conference matches. We’re going to compete with and we’re going to beat the best to become the best versions of ourselves.”
“Finally, to this amazing team of women, thank you for your trust. Thank you for who you are. It’s been amazing to just chat with you the last few weeks. I can’t tell you every conversation that I’ve had has been finished with them asking ‘what help do you need, what can we do for you guys?’ It’s rare, and it’s amazing, and it’s powerful. I’m excited to compete with you, to work with you, to fail with you, to succeed with you, and to grow with you. These will be some of the greatest years of of your life. It’s not going to be easy. It will ask everything of you, but your experiences will influence and inform the rest of your lives for the better. I was lucky to be part of that last 2004 national championship team, and when we get together, we don’t talk about the games, we don’t talk about the wins, we talk about the process, the practices, the trash that we talked to each other, the relationships that we had and the effort that we went through that allowed us to go and do great things. I can’t wait to embark on that process with you guys. It’s going to take your blood, your sweat and your tears, but championship moments await those of us who will dare greatly. So let’s go do great things. Go Cougars.”
