STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Nia Wattley's volleyball matches will take a pause until the spring semester, along with other America East competition. Her involvement with the Black Student-Athlete Huddle will remain a focal point upon her return to Long Island from her native Dallas in early August.

Wattley, a redshirt sophomore middle blocker with the Stony Brook volleyball team, recently was selected to the Black Student-Athlete Huddle's five-member steering committee.

She joins football's Justin Burns and TJ Morrison, track and field's Kyria Moore and tennis' Nolween Cardoso in that leadership role. Her appointment continues the steering-committee presence from the volleyball team after the May graduation of Kardasia Hitchcock.

The Black Student-Athlete Huddle, founded in the spring of  2018, advocates for its members within the Stony Brook Athletic Department and university communities. 

"It's definitely a safe space for all of the Black athletes," Wattley said. "And it's a space for us to all come together and talk about topics that we all deal with."

Wattley recalls being a member of the fledgling group as a freshman two years ago, when the Black Student-Athlete Huddle met with athletic director Shawn Heilbron to advocate for more diversity among the athletics staff.

"Being able to see more faces that looked like ours," Wattley described the goal. "We also asked for diversity training. Shawn really listed to us, and it was great.

"With the George Floyd situation and all of the protests and things that are happening across the country and across the world, it's cool to see that Stony Brook was ahead of the game."

With the nation's attention now focused squarely on racial justice, the group's importance only increases.

"This year we're going to focus on making an impact," Wattley said. "We've been behind the scenes."

Meanwhile, after redshirting in 2018, Wattley enjoyed her first season of competition at the college level last fall. She appeared in 17 matches and tallied 42 kills and 31 blocks.

"I went from cheering on the bench for my team and getting a ring to being on the court, which is just a totally different head space — knowing you're affecting things physically instead of just emotionally," Wattley said. "That was a big change. But I enjoyed it."

The opportunity to contribute will only increase with second-team All-America East selection Kendra Harlow's graduation.

"Kendra was our huge scorer. She made a lot of big plays," Wattley said. "Those are some really big shoes. But I think Eni (Enitan Omolewa) and I, and (freshman) Abby (Campbell), we're going to get in there with great training and we're going to kill it."