Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009

Suns' Doyle eclipsing the competition

By Rene Ferran, Herald staff writer

KENNEWICK -- The first thing you notice about Meagan Doyle is her hair.

The Southridge senior and budding fashion designer can't do much with the volleyball uniform she's issued, so she makes her statements instead with her elaborate 'dos that add at least an inch or two to the middle blocker's 5-foot-10 1/2 frame.

"Oh my gosh!" said teammate Andrea Smith, busting out in laughter. "I always make fun of her hair, but really I love it. She definitely rats it out well. Her hair gets pretty poofy. But that's like her signature."

Between her coifs and her gangly appearance, Doyle doesn't strike fear into Suns opponents.

"But she steps on the court and I think she surprises the other team," said coach John Lengphounpraseut.

Count Moses Lake's Amy Utter among them.

Utter recalled their match last month in Moses Lake, when Doyle had eight kills and five blocks as the Suns won in four sets.

"I can remember thinking, 'Wow,' " Utter said. "My girl, Kayla Bernsen, is 6-3, and she doesn't get blocked much, but she got blocked that night."

Doyle is averaging 2.4 kills per set (second on the team) and has 54 blocks (1.3 per set) for the Suns, who are ranked ninth in the state and sit atop the CBBN standings at 11-1 with eight days left in the regular season.

If Southridge can survive matches against Davis and West Valley in the final week, it will win at least a share of the first league title in the program's history.

The Suns are in this position after rallying from two sets down to defeat Kamiakin at home Tuesday, and Doyle played no small part with 11 kills and three blocks. Her success came at the expense of a trio of Columbia Juniors club teammates on the Braves, and Doyle was quick to text them after the match.

"I just told them, 'Good game,' " she said. "I didn't want to sound like, 'Ha ha, we won.' But our team's worked so hard for this. We'd never done it, and they'd done it a few times, so it felt good."

Doyle started playing volleyball in seventh grade at Horse Heaven Hills, and while she tried other sports (and discarded them), she stuck with volleyball.

"This one fits me the best," she said. "Basketball, it had too much contact. I like being on my side of the net."

It's that easygoing yet bubbly personality that has won over her teammates.

"She's the one on our team who'll crack a joke at any time," Smith said. "Even when she says she's frustrated, you can't tell. She's just a very positive person."

Until this year, though, her play didn't necessarily reflect that positive attitude. Part of that may have been due to playing in the shadow of Liz Clark, an All-Area middle blocker who's now playing for Lewis-Clark State.

"Before, she was hesitant, not very confident in her ability," Smith said. "But you can definitely see this year she's gotten so much faster and smarter."

Doyle credits much of her improvement to her relationship with Clark, whom she considers a mentor.

"She was always encouraging me, giving me pointers," Doyle said. "She had this quote she used all the time about how the greatest pleasure in life is doing something that everybody tells you that you can't do. And it's true. It feels really good when you can do something no one thinks you can."

Like, perhaps, stepping into Clark's shoes -- a big question mark for the team coming into the season.

"Those were definitely some big shoes to fill," Doyle said. "But it's not that I had to be just like her. I can't be 6-2. I just hope I'm helping the team the best I can."

One person who was in her corner was Clark, with whom Doyle still talks on a regular basis.

"She's always been a good friend," Doyle said.

Clark returned the compliment in an e-mail: "Megan is a tough player. She's smart and has the best personality you could ask for. She isn't afraid to ask questions, and I believe that's part of why she has improved so much."

So much, in fact, that Lengphounpraseut thinks she could now play collegiately.

Doyle has looked into a couple of area junior colleges, and lately she's checked into Academy of Art University, a Division II school in San Francisco where she could combine her love of design with a volleyball career.

"Her belief in herself is the thing that's made her a stronger player this year," Lengphounpraseut said. "She just needs to hit the weight room and get stronger. But I think she has the ability to do it. And I think she'll surprise some people."