Freshman Megan Irvine is so used to hearing the question "They play volleyball in Alaska?" that she's come up with a quick comeback to the overused inquiry.
"People can't imagine anything but dog sledding as a sport," Irvine said. "We still have all the sports up there. It's not like we're completely up there in the boonies. We play [volleyball] year-round, indoors. There's not a lot to do in the dark and the snow."
With the lack of daylight outside, Irvine turned her attention to inside sports. She garnered 11 varsity letters over her four years at Colony High School in Wasilla, Alaska, demonstrating her athletic prowess and her competitive nature.
"There are two things about Megan that will make her succeed," Duke head coach Linda Grensing said. "One is she's a competitor--she's going to figure out a way to win. But she's also very mature and composed on the court, even though she hasn't had a lot of high school experience."
Volleyball wasn't Irvine's first choice of sports. Irvine first played one of the bigger sports in Alaska--basketball. She captained her high school squad all four years, leading her senior team to a 24-1 record and the state title. That year she also earned player of the year honors, while being named to the USA Today honorable mention team both her junior and senior seasons.
Along with basketball, Irvine earned two letters in track and one in swimming during her high school career. But it was volleyball that would eventually catch her attention.
She started playing the sport in eighth grade, at the encouragement of her basketball teammates. It was something different and fun. What began as just another sport eventually became her main interest.
Irvine's greatest volleyball achievement came in her senior year, when she led an inexperienced team to a 24-2 record and the state finals.
One of the obvious problems Irvine faced was finding top competition to play against. Unlike California, which has many club teams throughout the state, Alaska has just one.
"We separate the girls and play against each other to try to make it as competitive as possible," Irvine said.
Another problem with living in Alaska was the expense of traveling to tournaments. Irvine said her club team only traveled to one tournament a year, the one at the University of California at Davis.
"We looked forward to it," Irvine said. "The team we put together was an elite team. We prepared to go to UC-Davis in the summertime. You know the competition is going to be a lot stiffer. It allows you to see where you stand. We do have talent up there. It just depends on how you work at it."
Only traveling to one tournament a year made it very difficult for Irvine to gain national attention on the recruiting front. So even though she was a two-time all-state selection and led her team in kills per game and total kills her senior year, Irvine had to get out the pad and paper and write to schools about her volleyball prowess.
"No one recruits from Alaska, so I had to write letters to anywhere," Irvine said. "Anyplace that I was considering, I had to expose myself.
"No one really thinks of volleyball and Alaska, so you have to sort of sell yourself. No one thinks of anything from Alaska. You have to do a lot of advertising and try to get the coaches to the tournaments that you're going to be at."
Although Irvine was recruited by former head coach Jon Wilson, current head coach Linda Grensing knew of Irvine's volleyball talent from one of her players at Ohio State. Lisa Rosen is also from Wasilla.
"Lisa and her husband had worked at camps up there," Grensing said."I knew she was a good athlete but didn't have a lot of volleyball experience."
Irvine eventually narrowed her choices for college down to William & Mary and Duke. She chose the Blue Devils after getting along well with the team members.
Irvine knew she would see a lot of playing time as a freshman, due to the fact that the Blue Devils lost five of their six starters. Still, she never expected to tie a school record, which she did when she recorded 13 blocks against Louisiana State. What makes the feat more impressive is Irvine played only three games in that match, while the previous record holder needed five.
"I expected to come in and work hard, just like everyone else," she said. "I didn't expect to set records."
Grensing has been surprised with both Irvine's athletic ability and her leadership skills.
"She's someone with a lot of ability, but it hasn't even come close to being developed," Grensing said. "It's surprising that she's a leader for us in crucial times. Typically, it's not a freshman who doesn't have a lot of experience [who takes charge]."
Irvine was one reason why the Blue Devils won their first two Atlantic Coast Conference games this past weekend. They face their next conference foe tonight when they take on N.C. State at 7:30 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Irvine should be a big factor in continuing Duke's recent success, not only for the rest of this season, but for the rest of her career.
"I see her as being a very skilled player, a very dominant player in the ACC," Grensing said. "Physically and mentally, she has the ability to be that kind of player."
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