Miami Ohio University Athletics
Eagan Making It Look Easy
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Oct. 12, 2001
See if you can dig this, because Erika Eagan sure can.
The junior volleyball player from Bloomington, Ill., is no stranger to digs as she is ranked 15th nationally in digs per game. Eagan has been ranked every week this season, at one point as high as seventh.
Head coach Carolyn Condit says the ability and creative flair that make Eagan a powerful hitter and strong defensive player comes naturally to her, but there may be more to it than that.
As a product of the Chicago area, Eagan polished her talents in a highly competitive environment. As an art major, she takes the inventiveness she brings to her schoolwork and applies it to her game.
Eagan grew up near the Windy City, where volleyball is considered one of the top high school sports. A unanimous repeat selection on the Sangamon Valley all-conference team, Eagan was instrumental in extending her high school's conference win streak to 73 matches and led the team to a 26-4 overall record as a senior and captain.
In 1996 and 1997 she helped her team win the Mid-East qualifier to finish among the top-five teams at the USA Junior National Tournament.
"Erika is a great athlete who has been born with a natural gift," Condit says. "She has learned how important defense is and knows how to get in the right position. She has the knack for absorbing a hard-driven ball and the ability to control it."
Eagan was one of only three players to play in all of Miami's 29 matches last season, leading the team in digs (243), ranking second in service aces (27) and digs per game (2.56), third in kills (209), and registering the RedHawks' first triple-double since 1996.
Not one to be satisfied with past achievements, Eagan has continued to strive toward new goals and leads the conference in digs, a category in which she set a single-game career-high with 26 against Illinois State on Sept. 7.
Despite the expectations she has generated as a result of her success, Eagan feels no added pressure when she is performing.
"It never crosses my mind when I am on the court," she says. "I just go out there and play one game at a time."
In Eagan's last match against Buffalo on Oct. 7, she recorded 14 kills, two service aces, nine digs and two block assists, playing in all four games.
Not only does Eagan lead by example with her play on the court but she also serves as a guide for the underclassmen off the court by being a vocal when she needs to be.
"At times, everyone has to step up into a leadership role," Eagan says.
Just as there are those who look up to her on the team, Eagan said she looks at the four seniors - Robyn Byrnes, Sara Uehlin, Summer Clouse, Lee Ann Karr - as leadership figures.
In mentally preparing for a match, Eagan relies on routine behavior and a superstition or two. She puts her uniform on the same way before every match and writes a message on her shoe, although she wouldn't reveal what that message is.
Whatever it is, it appears to be working.
Story by Tara Cheek