Maryland's California Girls Are Undeniable

The friendship of Alex McGillivray and Eva Rohrbach started as all great friendships do — with beach volleyball and a little intimidation.

Growing up in the suburbs of San Diego, the two met each other on the beach courts scattered throughout southern California, playing against each other in tournaments. Without having conversed with each other, both felt intimidated by the other, in awe of their volleyball skills.

“I remember for me, Eva was super intimidating because I remember playing her and she beat us that first time,” McGillivray said. “ Then I remember she came to a tryout for a team I was on and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s the really good beach girl I used to play against.’”

The intimidation grew even further once Rohrbach made McGillivray’s club team at Wave Volleyball. In McGillivray’s first time officially talking to Rohrbach, she tried to introduce herself, but her new teammate didn’t hear her greeting. To McGillivray, she thought Rohrbach ignored her.

“”I was like, ‘Okay, like this is how it’s gonna be,’” McGillivray said. “This Eva chick doesn’t like me.”

“I didn’t hear her,” Rohrbach laughed. “I wouldn’t have done that if I had heard her.”

As the two progressed through middle and high school together over the next six years, the awkwardness of their first few meetings passed and the two became best friends as club teammates and high school rivals. Eventually, Rohrbach and McGillivray joined forces at the college level, as the two SoCal stars are in the midst of their freshman season with Maryland volleyball.

“It’s perfect how everything has worked out to where not only are we both playing volleyball at the college level, but we get to do it together,” Rohrbach said. “If there was anyone I wanted to come to school with, it was Alex.”

While volleyball on the beach was the initial source of dissension between Rohrbach and McGillivray, playing in the sand was what brought the two together as more than just teammates. As the duo mainly competed in indoor volleyball together, the two occasionally teamed up to play in beach tournaments with each other in a two-on-two format. 

In those beach volleyball tournaments, the two came to appreciate each other’s talent more and more. Rohrbach provided the size up front as a 6-foot-2 middle blocker who could attack at the net, while the 5-foot-8 McGillivray played in the backcourt, where her passing and defensive strength helped each other grow their game not just playing beach, but also for their indoor competition.

“Once we started playing indoor more, beach was more casual,” McGillivray said. “I remember after COVID, it was like my first time touching a ball again. We went to this random court that one of Eva’s friends had, and it was the two of us and two of our other friends just playing with each other. We always have a fun time playing beach.”

Off the court, McGillivray and Rohrbach grew as friends by hanging out with friends and going to see concerts and music festivals with each other. Additionally, the club success of Wave Volleyball brought the pair together, as they both won championships with their respective U18 teams at Wave. 

“Right before I went on, Alex and her U18 team won their league, and I was also there to watch her win,” Rohrbach said. “That was just awesome to play back-to-back and both pick up wins.”

“Eva’s team won U18 Nationals, which is an incredible experience and I was there to watch that game and it was so well deserved,” McGillivray said. “Even just seeing her on that court, I was so proud. I felt like a mother watching her daughter play.”

While the two shared in each other’s success at Wave Volleyball, traveling around the country and playing against the best high school competition in the nation, they could not share in that success at the high school level. 

Rohrbach and McGillivray competed at rival high schools in the San Dieguito Union High School District, with Rohrbach representing La Costa Canyon and McGillivray wearing a Torrey Pines jersey. Separated by just a half-hour drive on I-5, the two institutions faced each other on a yearly basis. And since both schools were among the best in the state of California, the stakes were always high when the two squared off.

“You would wait all year for the Torrey Pines game, especially playing there,” Rohrbach said. “It was a hard environment to play in because Alex told all her friends to bully me from the stands. At the end of the day, even though you’re competing right now and you want to beat Alex and you want to hit every shot as hard as you can at her, I can’t wait to see her after the match is done.”

“It was the same type of environment at LCC,” McGillivray said. “They would be chirping me all game, but it was always great to see Eva after the match.”

Playing at two high-profile high schools and at Wave Volleyball, a club that sent players to powerhouse volleyball programs like Texas, Stanford, Colorado and UCLA helped McGillivray and Rohrbach showcase their abilities for college scouts.

It just so happened that Maryland, a school all the way across the country, took an interest in both San Diego area standouts.

In their recruiting process, Rohrbach had first contact with the Maryland coaching staff through working with them in the US National Team Development Program. McGillivray had offers from several schools and was trying to decide where she fit best. Eventually, the Terps reached out to her and it clicked that her club teammate was hoping to go there.

“When Maryland reached out to me, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is crazy,’” McGillivray said. “I knew Eva was going to school there and it’s such an amazing program, and I was lucky enough to have her with me when I came over on my official visit.”

During McGillivray’s recruiting process, Rohrbach didn’t claim exclusivity of the Maryland program or make it seem as if it was ‘her school’. Instead, she invited McGillivray in to link up at the collegiate level.

“I loved the program on that official visit, and Eva was never once like, ‘This is my school,’” McGillivray said. “She wanted to come here with me and she was so welcoming about it. Obviously knowing someone coming to your school makes things way easier, so I was super lucky.”

When Rohrbach found out that McGillivray had caught Maryland’s eye, she tried to keep quiet about it and not influence her friend’s decision too much. But inside, Rohrbach couldn’t help but feel excited about the prospects of playing with her club teammate.

“When I heard they reached out to Alex, I was secretly losing it,” Rohrbach said. “I was so excited, and I tried to keep it under wraps because I didn’t want to affect her decision in any way.”

Eventually, Rohrbach couldn’t contain her excitement about the program and wanted to lay it all on the line for McGillivray to join her in College Park. The two high school seniors went to lunch at CAVA, and after McGillivray didn’t bring up her interest in Maryland, Rohrbach pressed.

“I brought up that Maryland had reached out to her, and I had said before that I didn’t want to oversell it for her and talk her into something she didn’t want,” Rohrbach said. “I tried to keep neutral ground, but I knew that I wanted her to come with me.”

The two didn’t wait long to announce their commitments, with both verbally announcing their intent to join Adam Hughes’ program before Halloween of 2022.

While McGillivray and Rohrbach’s move from suburban San Diego to the DMV requires almost a five-hour long flight, the two of them have adjusted to life at Maryland well with each other to provide support.

“There definitely were nerves at first, but that's kind of just how it is for college in general,” McGillivray said. “I know me and Eva are kind of like-minded in that we wanted to experience something new and we wanted to get out of our bubble. Being at a program like this at a Big Ten school was the perfect opportunity, but it was hard at first.”

Playing for Maryland now, Rohrbach and McGillivray have half a season under their belt and have seen the court a great deal for the Terrapins. Rohrbach has played a vital role at middle blocker, starting all 16 matches while ranking among the top five freshmen in the country in hitting percentage and blocks per set. Behind her, McGillivray has seen her playing time steadily increase to where she is now a regular rotation player and earned her first collegiate start in the Big Ten opener against Purdue.

On the court, the two rely on each other for support when the ball isn’t bouncing their way or there’s an off practice or match. The two know how to bring the best out of each other

“I would say especially with our days off, we know each other as players,” McGillivray said. “We’ve come to know how to lift each other up because I know I can pick Eva up and say, ‘I know you can do it,’ and just kind of remind her of who she is and she can do the same to me.”

On the court, Rohrbach admires McGillivray’s ability to lead by example even as a freshman and her compassion and understanding off the court.

“She brings the energy to the court that people just want to be around and follow her,” Rohrbach said. “When she does her thing, everyone else gets better just watching her. And if I'm having a bad day, I can always go to her and she will talk me out of it or sit there with me and just listen and she just always knows how to care for you.”

McGillivray has been impressed with Rohrbach’s composure and calm attitude on the court, along with her ability to make others better through her skill in practice.

“I remember digging against her has always improved my skill and has been something that I always have and always will look up to her for,” McGillivray said. “She’s one of the most composed, consistent people I’ve been around and she’s one of my closest friends, and I’m so lucky for us to be roommates and teammates.”