Miss Maryland USA Nana Meriwether competes in the swimwear competition during the 2012 Miss USA pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on June 3, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty Images)

Nana Meriwether came in second place in the Miss USA pageant Sunday.  The one-time professional volleyball player has not always been one to perform on the runway or on the court.  Meriwether, a native of Potomac, Md., says she was a “total nerd as a kid.” The Washington Post has the story.

Don’t they all say something like this? Nana Meriwether, the world-class beauty from Potomac, Md., who came in second at Miss USA on Sunday, insists that she was a total nerd as a kid.

“I was the most insecure,” the 2003 Sidwell Friends grad told us. “In high school, I had maybe two friends. I couldn’t speak in front of people.”

So how did she end up on live national television in a tiny bikini? After a long career in volleyball — a two-time NCAA All-American and former Olympic hopeful, who played professionally overseas — she retired a few years ago, only to realize “I still felt I needed to be competing in something.”

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