Noah’s Arc
Noah Manna and his mother, Julie, show off Walled Lake Central’s regional championship plaque.
From novice to Michigan’s first Chaldean All-State boys volleyball player
By Steve Stein
Noah Manna joined the new Walled Lake Central High School boys volleyball team when he was a sophomore with very little experience in the sport.
“I’d only played volleyball in gym class,” he said. “The girls in my gym class when I was a freshman who had played volleyball before were amazingly good at it, and the sport looked like fun, so I gave it a try. I’m so glad I did.”
When he graduated from Walled Lake Central this past spring, Manna left behind a legacy on and off the volleyball court.
He was the boys volleyball team’s captain and starting setter as a junior and senior, and he was named a third-team Division 2 All-State player by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association in his senior year.
He was the first Chaldean to earn an All-State honor from the MIVCA.
Setter is a hugely important position in volleyball. It’s akin to a quarterback in football. Like a QB, a volleyball team’s offense runs through the setter.
Lindy Shedlowsky, Walled Lake Central’s coach all three years Manna was on the boys volleyball team, wasn’t surprised that Manna emerged from the shadows to become one of the best players in the state.
Because there were so many older players on the team when Manna was a sophomore—he was the only sophomore on the team, as a matter of fact—he rode the bench most of the season.
But he earned a spot in the starting lineup as a defensive specialist by the end of the year, and the rest is history.
“Noah had a lack of knowledge about volleyball when he started playing it, but no lack of desire and an intense work ethic,” Shedlowsky said. “He put in tons of work on his own time ear-round so he would keep improving.”
Manna said he played volleyball three or four times a week during summers and attended clinics to sharpen his skills.
Selecting Manna as the team captain for two years was an easy decision for Shedlowsky.
“Noah is going to go far in this world and I’m so proud to be part of his journey,” she said. “He’s a kind, sweet, funny, salt of the earth young man. As a captain, he did a great job bringing the team together. He was always positive, never mean or judgmental.
“But he also could get on a player if he thought the player wasn’t being seriously competitive. That’s also a captain’s job.”
Another job for Manna as captain was finding players for the team.
“I did a lot of recruiting,” he said.
Walled Lake Central had a successful team during Manna’s captaincy. This past season, the Vikings went 21-3 during the regular season, won a regional championship, and advanced all the way to the Final Four in the Division 2 state tournament.
They lost to eventual state champion and No. 1-ranked Lowell in the state semifinals in June. Walled Lake Central was ranked No. 3.
“I wouldn’t have believed it if you had told me when I was a sophomore that I’d be All-State and our team would do so well in only its third year,” Manna said.
Boys volleyball was a club sport for the first seven years of its existence in Michigan. That’s why it was run by the coaches group. It will be Michigan High School Athletic Association-sanctioned sport starting this season.
After having four boys volleyball teams in western Michigan in 2018, there were nearly 100 teams statewide this past season.
“It’s people like Noah who are responsible for the growth of the sport in our state,” Shedlowsky said.
Volleyball wasn’t Manna’s only extra-curricular activity at Walled Lake Central. He also was a member of the Chaldean American Student Association, National Honor Society, Science National Honor Society, and the Red Cross Club.
So what’s next for Manna?
He’s attending the University of Michigan, where he’s on a pre-med track and thinking of playing volleyball at the intramural level if it can be worked into his class schedule. Academic are his No. 1 priority.
Michael and Julie Manna are Noah’s parents. The family lives in Commerce Township.