Asian American athletes remain underrepresented in college sports. In 2023, only 2% of NCAA Division I athletes were of Asian descent. That underrepresentation provides Asian American athletes with unique challenges — and opportunities — to navigate. 

For Ryan Ka, an outside hitter on the University of California San Diego’s varsity men’s volleyball team until his graduation in 2023, being an Asian American competing in college is “a cool thing.” He says, “It creates a form of community among the people that are Asian Americans within the sport. Even if you don’t know them personally, you know who all the other Asian people are who are playing in your sport and at that higher level, and it’s cool to have that kind of camaraderie between people.”

Both Ka and his teammate Matthew Lim, a senior outside hitter, said that their Asian family upbringings and values heavily contributed to their success as athletes.

“Having that drive and hard work — I think that’s definitely part of Asian culture. Working really hard in anything that you’re doing, just not being lazy. It almost sometimes feels like laziness isn’t really an option,” Ka said.

Ka, who is of Filipino descent, was named an All-Big West Honorable Mention in 2023. That summer, he was selected to play for the Philippines National Team. While he was one of the few Asian volleyball players in the NCAA, his experience overseas offered another unique perspective. As an American citizen playing among born-and-raised Filipinos, Ka found himself in a reversed role.

During Lim’s three-year tenure with the UCSD Tritons, he has amassed an impressive array of accolades, both academic and athletic. His honors include selection to the Big West Spring All-Academic Team and the Big West Commissioner’s Honor Roll. Lim’s freshman year performance earned him a spot on the Big West All-Freshman team as well.

“It’s hard to play a D1 sport, that percentage [of those who make it] is really low. And then you look at the percent that are fully Asian, and that’s really low, and then you look at the percent of those people that play outside hitter, and that’s even lower,” Lim said. “Sometimes, I think about the chances I had of making it here and it really just makes me thankful for everyone that’s helped me get to where I’m at — all my coaches, all my teammates.”

Throughout the years, with contributions from Lim and Ka, the Tritons have solidified their reputation as a heavyweight in the NCAA. In 2024, the Tritons had a stellar season, reaching a ranking of 16th in the American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll, even managing a commanding 3-0 sweep against the University of Hawaii, which had won back-to-back NCAA national championships in 2021 and 2022.

Despite reporting no significant discrimination based on their ethnic backgrounds, both Lim and Ka acknowledged encountering occasional, minor challenges related to their heritage, including insensitive comments or jokes, which they say were likely not made with ill intent, just ignorance.

“I think there’s a perception of what a really good volleyball player looks like, and when that player comes to most people’s mind, that player’s not Asian,” Lim said. “Somewhere along the line of my volleyball career, I’m sure I’ve been overlooked, in part because of my race, but I wouldn’t say that’s something I’m too concerned with, because it’s not something I can control.”

Despite there being several high-profile Asian American volleyball players, both male and female, their concentration in defensive positions may fuel those very perceptions.

“It is a bummer because you feel like you’re an underdog a lot of the time. You kind of get pigeonholed into, ‘Oh, you’re Asian, you must play a certain kind of way,’” Ka said. “At the same time, it does make it almost more fun when you get to subvert those expectations.”

To new players starting the sport, Lim recommends all-in commitment, including seeing what professional and college players are doing. And, he hopes, perhaps he himself can be a role model for the next generation.

“It’s cool when I see younger Asian players that kind of look up to me and see someone that looks like them playing at a higher level,” Lim said. “I think that’s definitely something special.”

Zhang is a senior at Canyon Crest Academy and lives in Carmel Valley.

Originally Published: November 10, 2024 at 6:00 AM PST