ATHLETE OF THE WEEK meagan donohoe - volleyball

The Blue Jay's 3-0 romp of Washington this past weekend wasn't the team's only impressive feat. Freshman Meagan Donohoe crushed the Shorewomen with a mean, match-leading 13 kills and three aces.

Her dominance extended beyond the scorecard, however, as Donohoe served eight straight points to start the second set and built a solid 12-2 lead for the Blue Jays.

As a result, it comes as no surprise that Donohoe  was voted the Centennial Conference's player of the week and The News-Letter's Athlete of the Week.

The Olney, MD rookie didn't sink the Shorewomen by herself, however. Senior Melissa Cole complimented her dynamic attack by adding 11 kills of her own, and fellow freshmen Mariel Metalios and Anne Cohen totaled 25 assists and match-high 14 digs, respectively. Together their efforts gave Hopkins their first Centennial victory of the season.

As of late, the freshmen Blue Jays have had a hot hand, playing major roles in three consecutive victories over Oberlin, the College of Notre Dame, and Washington.

"The older girls and the coaches have been very supportive in helping all of the freshmen adjust," explained Donohoe.

Not even halfway into the season, Donohoe already has quite the resume. She posted a match-high seven kills against the College of Notre Dame and 13 kills in the victory over Oberlin to round out the Marcia French Memorial Tournament.

With Melissa Cole leading the way with 40 kills and 49 digs in the four-match tournament, winning all-tournament honors, Donohoe had her back in the kills category.

It's no coincidence that the Cole-Donohoe duo has been at the forefront of the team's three-game winning streak.

With a whopping 80 kills just 11 games into the season, Donohoe has already successfully adjusted to the quicker style of play at the collegiate level.

"The pace of the game is a lot faster, and practices are very competitive," the five-foot-ten freshman said. "But I expected there to be a big difference between high school and college volleyball."

As dominant as she is on the court, the Our Lady of Good Counsel alumnus still exemplifies the Blue Jay spirit in putting the team first and attributes their recent success to speed bumps and learning from mistakes.

"After our losses in Ohio, we all really learned what it meant to be a Blue Jay," Donohoe said. "It was a big learning experience, and we learned how to better communicate on the court and work together as a team. I think if we keep working hard and remember what we learned there, we will continue to succeed as a team."

Donohoe and the Blue Jays have their feet on the pedal and don't plan on slowing down any time soon. With chemistry, experience and talent on their side, the team plans on continuing their success.

The Blue Jays have been practicing harder and pushing each other further with their eyes set on making a postseason run.

"Practices are very competitive," Donohoe said. "We do a lot of competitive game play during practice, but we also spend a lot of time working on individual skills, too. I think the combination of the two has really helped us grow as a team.

"We've also spent a lot of time together setting goals, watching film, etc. which I think has also contributed to our success so far."

At 8-3 and 1-0 in the Centennial, the Blue Jays will continue their formula for success.

Donohoe also attributes the team's success to the team's ability to keep things fun and fresh.

"I really like the environment here at Hopkins," she said. "I love being a part of a team, and all of us have gotten really close to each other during the season."

It's starting to look like the team will have a strong base for future years from this talented freshmen class.

Donohoe, an outside hitter, is no stranger to competitive college athletics: her father played basketball at James Madison, and her mother played volleyball for UNC Wilmington.

Enjoying the academic side of Hopkins as well as the athletics, Donohoe is looking to pursue a major in psychology. She looks up to beach volleyball legend and Olympic gold medalist, Kerri Walsh and is an avid fan of James Cameron's late 1990s masterpiece, Titanic.

The Blue Jays will return to action in the nation's capital to take on Gallaudet on Thursday, September 22 at 7 pm. Can't make it? Don't fret; they return to Goldfarb Gym on Saturday, September 24th at noon to take on conference opponent Muhlenberg.

Next up, is a three-game road trip highlighted by a September 29th match against Kristina Straub's Hood College Blazers.

They then return to Hopkins on October 5th for another Centennial match, this time against Franklin & Marhsall. There's still plenty of time yet to catch Donohoe and the Jays in action this fall.