The Wright State volleyball team is one of the youngest teams in the Horizon League, and with only having two seniors, head coach Susan Clements has relied on the youth of her squad led my freshman Megan Hopkins.
Hopkins always had a desire for athletics, however volleyball is the sport that she fell in love with early on.
“I am just a really competitive person and volleyball really brought that out in me. I love the sport and I love being a part of a team that is so close. It’s just such a fun sport and that’s why I love it,” said Hopkins.
Hopkins played basketball and volleyball at Westfield High School in Carmel, Ind. where she was a four-year letterman in both sports. As much as she enjoyed playing basketball, Hopkins believed that volleyball was her calling. After an eye opening conversation with a club coach during her sophomore season, she knew she was correct.
“My sophomore year in club season. That’s when my coach talked to me and asked if I was serious about it and if I wanted to play in college. That’s when it opened my eyes and was like ‘Wow I can actually play in college,’ so that’s when I started looking at schools and getting serious in the whole recruiting process,” Hopkins said.
A lot of Division II schools showed interest in Hopkins early on and even a couple Division I schools like Bradley and Miami (OH) University. Once Wright State became interested, Hopkins said that it was a no-brainer where she wanted to play.
“A lot of other Division II schools came out but Wright State was definitely my number one focus and my number one choice. When they came out to me I was so excited because it was everything that I wanted in a school. I didn’t really look at anyone else because Wright State was “It” for me I guess,” said Hopkins.
Closeness to family and the size of the school were the two main factors that led to Hopkins decision to become a Raider.
“My goal was to play DI college volleyball and that’s what Wright State offered me. Its only two hours away from my home and it’s the perfect size for me so it was honestly the perfect school,” she said.
With only being a freshman, Hopkins has already made an impact and her talents have already been recognized as she was named to the Chattanooga Invitational All-Tournament Team earlier on in the season.
Hopkins credits a lot of her success to fellow teammate, Haley Garr, who has pushed her and inspired her to play at such a high level.
“I looked up to Haley Garr the most because she was such a competitive person and she has such a drive to win and she does whatever it takes. She just inspired me to also play like her. To play competitive, do everything I can just for a point,” Hopkins said.
As talented as the 6-foot freshman is, Hopkins knows that it is not just her talents alone that will turn WSU’s volleyball team around. With many people pointing to ‘youth’ as a factor for its current record, Hopkins believes that its ‘youth’ is what is going to make the program better as time goes.
