Nick FioRito is listed as an outside hitter on Valparaiso’s roster, but that’s not the only position he’s handling.
The 6-foot-4 senior is an ambassador for boys volleyball.
“This sport is awesome,” FioRito said. “I love the culture. I love everything about it. I just want to bring that culture here, and being able to share that with my teammates has been such a good experience.”
Volleyball is still classified as an emerging sport by the Indiana High School Athletic Association, but FioRito has made it his personal mission to help lay the foundation for the developing program at Valparaiso.
On the court, he’s helping the Vikings (8-0) by spearheading the offense. He leads the team with 132 kills and 158 digs, and he recorded 24 kills during a five-set thriller against Lake Central on Monday night. Earlier that day, he was named a Midwest player of the week by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Valparaiso coach Katie Lenard, who also leads the girls volleyball program, said there are no weaknesses in FioRito’s game.
“He’s very strong in every skill set,” Lenard said. “He’s a very well-rounded player — a good passer, a good hitter, all of that stuff.”
When FioRito entered high school, there was no boys volleyball program at Valparaiso. But he had been playing club volleyball in middle school.
“When I first started playing club, I just knew that this was the sport I wanted to play,” he said. “I have a passion for it that’s unlike any of the other sports I played.”
That passion led FioRito to clubs in Illinois due to the lack of opportunities in Indiana. Two years ago, however, the IHSAA labeled boys volleyball an emerging sport, setting it on a path to become sanctioned. That convinced more schools, including Valparaiso, to start a program.
So FioRito went from bombarding Lenard, his physical education teacher, with volleyball conversations to playing on her team.
“I was excited,” FioRito said. “I’d been asking about a boys team since my freshman year once I found out she was the coach.”
This is FioRito’s second and final season with the program. But he said he hopes his impact lingers long after his graduation.
“It’s setting a foundation for the future,” he said. “There are so many little things, like the volleyball talk that isn’t possible unless you’ve played it at a higher level.”
Lenard said she wishes the boys program had started earlier for the sake of players like FioRito but added that he’s making up for the lost time by pointing his younger, less experienced teammates in the right direction at every turn.
“He’s been good at realizing people’s current levels and seeing the potential in them,” Lenard said. “There’s so much that these kids have to learn, it’s nice to have someone else on the court who can help out, and it’s helpful with it being a new sport and a new program.”
Sophomore libero Asher Collins is one of those newer players. He joined the program last year for his first season of organized volleyball. He said FioRito’s contributions have ranged from organizing volleyball sessions over the summer to giving midmatch instructions.
“He’s basically a second coach out there,” Collins said. “He likes the team aspect of it, and he likes seeing his teammates improve. That’s probably the No. 1 thing. When someone else does something good, he’s always smiling about it — especially if it’s advice he gave.”
FioRito won’t stop giving it.
“It’s about building a passion and interest for the sport,” he said. “Then they can branch off and play club, taking them all over the country, and then they can bring that here and represent their school too.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter.