For Western Kentucky sophomore middle hitter Megan Argabright, that difference was having a coach look past ability and statistics and take a look at her as a person.
“Megan and I developed a relationship and really made a connection from the first time we started talking during the recruiting process,” said Lady Topper head coach Travis Hudson. “She’s a great kid, and a really neat kid. We really made a connection on a life level that just happens to be very beneficial to both of us on the volleyball court.”
“Travis was looking at more than whether I could hit a volleyball. He was seeing that I needed more of a friend and a mentor during my college career,” added Argabright. “He wasn’t just looking at things from a volleyball standpoint — he was looking more off the court which made Western Kentucky that much more special.”
That type of confidence helped Argabright become the most decorated freshman in Lady Topper history. She joined former setter Caron Blotch — a teammate last fall — as the only two players in school history to ever earn All-America honors, then earned National Freshman-of-the-Year accolades from Collegiate Volleyball Update. She added first-team all-Sun Belt honors, an all-SBC Tournament team selection and league Freshman-of-the-Year accolades.
Argabright is the first to attribute much of that success to a veteran team in 2005 — one that finished 31-3 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. With a senior setter and a pair of senior outside hitters joining her at the net, she was able to take advantage of the reputation of her teammates to put up a team-best 417 kills and post a school-record .405 hitting percentage. However, just a year later it is Argabright that has already been thrust into a leadership role.
“She is having a much bigger year this season than she did a year ago,” said Hudson. “Megan’s much more a focal point of our offense and has really developed her game in the offseason to do a lot more. At a very young age, she has become the person we lean on when we need a big play.”
There is no doubt she has lived up to the billing as the 2006 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Player of the Year. Having already surpassed her kills total from her freshman season, Argabright has more than established herself as WKU’s main offensive threat for the rest of her career. Now the two-time defending Sun Belt Player of the Week, she enters play this weekend having already recorded 900 career kills and is on pace to shatter the Lady Topper career mark before leaving the Hill.
“I can’t imagine that anyone could come watch her play and not enjoy it,” said Hudson. “She plays the game with a lot of emotion, energy and competitiveness — and that really rubs off on our kids and is fun to watch.”
That energy on the court seems to be contagious to her teammates as well. WKU enters the final five matches of the regular season on a season-long eight-match winning streak, and sits atop the Sun Belt East Division standings. Even with all the individual attention she gets, it is the numbers in the win column and the championship trophies in the Lady Topper locker room that motivate Argabright every day on the court.
“When I see my team succeed, it makes me happy. I love the team atmosphere. If I wanted the individual attention, I’d go play tennis or chess,” she said. “We’ve gotten a little taste of the NCAA Tournament, and I always want to strive for that and all the goals we set out to achieve as a team each season.”
“Megan’s everything that’s good about athletics,” Hudson added. “Although she’s an absolute star between the lines, when she walks off the court she doesn’t need any of it — nor does she want any of it. She’s a very unassuming kid. Not only does she not want the accolades, she would much rather blend in with everybody else.”
The path to this point started about six years ago when Argabright was a freshman at Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville. Splitting her attention between both volleyball and basketball, she realized she needed to narrow her focus in order to excel.
“I can’t dribble a basketball to save my life. Then I was put in there to rebound, but I really didn’t have the best hands,” joked Argabright. “I felt much more comfortable in the volleyball setting than I did in basketball, and it just came down to following my passion.”
The focus on volleyball led to Argabright earning all-state honors all four years at SHA and a state championship in 2003. She was also named to Volleyball Magazine’s Fab 50 as a senior, making her the first Lady Topper signee ever to make that list. And while the quiet superstar was receiving offers from any number of programs, it was respect of a coach for her as a student and a person that made her most at home in Bowling Green.
“I really think that’s a big reason why she is here,” said Hudson. “Everyone was enamored with Megan Argabright the volleyball player, and I was enamored with Megan Argabright the human being.”
And it is Argabright that is enamored with helping children. A passion that goes back to her high school days.
“I love working with kids,” she said. “My mom’s a teacher, so I’d get into clubs and programs after school either tutoring some of them or working with a daycare. I love babysitting and working with the smaller kids.”
As she works toward a degree in education, it’s no surprise who Argabright hopes to model herself after as she heads out into the real world.
“I really look up to Travis Hudson because he’s not only a great father to his two little boys, but he can also work every day with 13 girls and get the most out of their abilities on the court,” she said. “It’s two different jobs and lives, and I respect him for having the ability to transfer his emotions both ways.”
The exciting thing for everyone involved is there are still two more years for the mentor to help continue molding Argabright into that type of person.
“I just want to see her continue to develop both as a person and as a volleyball player. Megan has already turned herself into an All American, and we want to strive to find ways for her to get better,” said Hudson. “Away from the court, I hope she uses volleyball to continue to develop her character and continue to develop confidence in herself as a person. She has the ability to go out in life and have a positive effect like she has in a volleyball match. With the type of person she is, it’s going to be an exciting couple of years finishing up her career here.”
