His mom and dad met at UC San Diego. He learned to swim at the pool next door to Main Gym, where his dad spent four years playing Division III men's volleyball as a Triton. His dad handed out flyers to support the student fee referendum that funded RIMAC Arena. And his mom was one of the first students to pay for those fees that constructed the arena he plays in now. Plus, five of his cousins have attended UC San Diego, representing both sides of his family. He was even born at Scripps Hospital on campus.
 
You could say freshman outside hitter Matthew Lim, born and raised in San Diego and a graduate of Torrey Pines High School, grew up more closely connected to UC San Diego than any other player on the men's volleyball team, and possibly more than any other student period. But that doesn't mean his path to becoming one of the rising stars on the nationally-ranked team was direct.
 
"Growing up my main sport was basketball actually, but I'd always been around volleyball since I was really little," says Matthew. "Around the end of middle school, I wanted to try out volleyball a bit more."

Matthew played basketball and volleyball in eighth and ninth grade, transitioning full-time to volleyball the following year. It was during that season that his choice to focus on volleyball opened up opportunities to continue playing in college.
 
But even once he committed completely to volleyball, his rise to the Division I level met another roadblock that was out of his control.
 
"Quarantine began right as my junior season got going," remembers Matthew. "We really only had the chance to play one match before COVID shut everything down."
 
The year and a half under quarantine meant Matthew's entire senior year of high school was online. Luckily though, he had a training partner close by to help him keep up his skills with backyard pepper sessions.

John Lim spent five years at UC San Diego, from 1986 to 1991, wearing No. 11 while playing volleyball at the Division III level within the friendly confines of Main Gym for his first four years on campus.
 
"When I came to UC San Diego I didn't think I'd be playing volleyball," says John. "It didn't even cross my mind."
 
He had started playing his senior year of high school, just one season before he would become a college volleyball player.
 
"When I heard there were tryouts on campus, I thought I'd just give it a try," says John. "I was very excited when I made the team."
 
Prior to picking up volleyball, John had played basketball, the same path his son would take a few decades later.
 
"I was a middle blocker, so I could just jump," says John. "I had a lot of fun playing, with no expectations or anything."
 
John would pass along that same relaxed attitude and love of the game to his son Matthew, who excelled well beyond his expectations once he found his way into the starting lineup.

Besides bumping the ball around in the backyard during the quarantine period, the family stayed close and tried to remain positive, a task made much easier once the high school volleyball season returned in March 2021.
 
"Having my junior season cut short made me not take volleyball for granted as much," says Matthew. "It was almost like having a newfound love of the game when we got to come back and compete again."
 
That senior season, which almost didn't take place due to state mandates, bolstered Matthew's recruiting process, which had been going since prior to COVID and during the quarantine period with Zoom meetings and virtual tours. Eventually, he decided on UC San Diego, a fitting choice for someone with such close ties to the school.
 
"Growing up, I remember going to UC San Diego a lot," says Matthew, who not only learned to swim but also attended robotics camps on campus as well. "It definitely made the decision more comfortable for me, because a lot of the other schools I was looking at I had never had the chance to visit because of COVID."
 
With all the personal and family ties to UC San Diego, it may have seemed a bit too close for comfort, but his family has found that a nice balance has been struck, especially because it means being able to attend plenty of his volleyball matches.
 
"I thought it would have been a good idea for him to go a little bit further from home for that growth experience, but he agreed he wasn't going to bring laundry home every other day," jokes Matthew's mom Grace Lim, "And it's really worked out, he's really owned it."

Just as he was beginning to get a handle on his first year of school, he began taking control on the court as well, thanks in part to a supportive network of teammates that included senior outside hitter Ryan Ka, who he had previously played with while on WAVE Volleyball Club during high school and who he spent the summer prior to coming to UC San Diego training with.
 
 "It helps having really experienced teammates around me, we have a lot of senior guys that are great leaders," says Matthew. "It's a lot easier to join them on the court when they have confidence in you."

All of that support and comfort, and not to mention family history, culminated in a breakout performance for Matthew against Concordia on Feb. 19, where an unforeseeable chain of events placed him in the center of the action.
 
"It seemed like one by one we had a lot of our key players either get hurt or get COVID," recalls Matthew of the lead-up to the match against Concordia. "I just remember not even knowing if I was going to play, but closer to the game I started getting mentally prepared for actually playing."
 
But any nerves he may have felt were mitigated by his understanding of his role and the opportunity he was being presented with.
 
"The cool thing about being a freshman, and not just being a freshman but being a guy coming from the bench, is that there are less expectations," says Matthew. "I felt like I could just go out there and play free of expectations and play hard."
 
But with the support of teammates and with the same calming mindset his dad brought to the floor during his playing days, Matthew was able to find success.
 
In front of his parents at RIMAC Arena, Matthew collected a career-high 15 kills, amending his previous high of 11 kills set the night before against UC Santa Cruz, performances that combined to earn him Big West Conference Freshman of the Week honors.
 
"We were just hyped for the game, we were thinking they better win it," remembers John. "We almost forgot to look and see how well Matthew was playing, because we were just happy for the team, but then I looked up and I noticed Matthew was the kills leader so far."
 
"It was special, and unexpected maybe, because Kyle [McCauley] was playing and he's an excellent athletic hitter and almost always is the kills leader. It was really fun to see Matthew shine as a freshman with almost no expectations."
 
His dad, who handed out pamphlets to fund RIMAC Arena in the first place, and his mom, whose fees helped fund the arena, now have gotten the chance to see their son thrive in an expanding role that they never could have imagined. Since that Concordia match, Matthew has recorded three or more kills in each of his outings, including a nine-kill performance in a win over Big West Conference foe and then No. 3-ranked Hawai'i.
 
But as much as Matthew has embraced volleyball, the sport definitely seems to have taken to him as well, with some help from his parents.
 
"Volleyball is one of those sports that gets more fun the better you get," says Grace of Matthew's connection with the game. "I've found that a lot of players had parents who were involved in volleyball, and that's how it trickles down to the kids."
 
And even if it's been a little while since he and his dad have played against each other, Matthew definitely had parents to help show him the game.

Matthew is a true freshman majoring in biology out of UC San Diego's Sixth College. You can see the Tritons play live at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla on April 9 against No. 2 Long Beach State and April 16 against No. 5 UC Santa Barbara.