If you were to check the headphones of the Duke volleyball team on the way to Alaska for the Alaska-Fairbanks Nanook Classic, 10 of them would be playing Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again." Meanwhile, senior Megan Irvine would likely be singing along with Mötley Crüe's "Home Sweet Home."
This weekend Irvine gets to return to her home state of Alaska to take on Alaska-Fairbanks, Iowa State and UNLV. This season-opening tournament for the Blue Devils will be held only six hours from Irvine's home town of Wasilla.
"My parents are going to be there and some of my friends will probably make the drive," Irvine said. "It should be a lot of fun."
The senior middle blocker has had quite a standout career as a Blue Devil thus far. In her three years, she has played in all 310 of Duke's games.
As a freshman, she started all 25 matches and led the team in blocks per game (1.2). She was recognized for her impressive season by being named to the freshman All-ACC team.
Irvine continued her high quality of play as a sophomore, leading the team with 36 solo blocks and receiving recognition as second-team All-ACC.
In her junior campaign, Irvine proved to be the team's "iron man" once again, as she was the only Blue Devil to play in all 113 games. She ended the season ranked second on the team in kills with 324. More impressively, she led the team in blocks with 108.
"Everything seems to get better every year, as far as playing, the facilities, the coaching," Irvine said.
In her first three seasons, Irvine has set a high standard for herself. She will lead this team as a captain for the third consecutive year. Her leadership this season could be crucial, especially on a team with five freshmen.
"Megan knows the structure we need to have and how we need to get things done, so she is a great leader in that sense," coach Linda Grensing said.
While it may seem to be a difficult task for the lone senior to relate to five newcomers, that has not been the case. Grensing believes that there is no one better for the freshmen to learn from.
"Her strengths are in the fact that she remembers when she was a freshman and how people sort of took care of her," Grensing said. "I think she's doing a great job of setting our freshmen on the right track and helping them find the resources that they need."
Irvine's role on the team has changed slightly this year. On the court she may see more action as an outside hitter, instead of primarily middle blocker. Grensing believes this will open up more offensive opportunities for the senior.
Besides the position change, Irvine will do things the same way she has in the past. Her teammates have noticed a slight change in Irvine's form of leadership this year.
"She's talking a lot more and going after everything aggressively," junior Jami Ediger said. "She always has, but this year she has more of a court presence."
Irvine's experience will be essential as Duke travels to Seward's Icebox for its season opener.
The Blue Devils start with a contest against the host, Alaska-Fairbanks. While this team is a Division II opponent, Duke should still have a great opportunity to get used to game action and try some combinations on the floor.
"It will be nice to play against some teams we don't know," Ediger said. "It probably won't be incredibly tough competition, but these are certainly not teams we can just sit back and relax against."
The Blue Devils will also face Iowa State and UNLV. Both of these teams have solid programs, but they are not in the same league as Stanford or Penn State. These matches should give Duke a chance to play some good competition early on, but not teams that are in the top 10 in the nation.
"This will be a good opportunity for us to gel as a group," Grensing said. "With so many new players, these games will be important for us."
The Blue Devils begin play late Thursday night and conclude the tournament on Sunday. They hope to enter the Duke Classic the following weekend sporting a 3-0 mark.
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