When most high school graduates say they want a change, they mean get a job or go to college far enough away from home where they can avoid parents but still come home when they can.
But for volleyball players Felicia Willoughby, Justine Record and Morgan O’Neill, a change meant traveling about 2,700 miles east to a city completely opposite of what they’re used to.
“I looked at a couple schools in California,” Willoughby said, “but I really wanted to try something different and something I wasn’t used to.”
All three hail from the Bay Area of California and surrounding suburbs of San Francisco. The coastal plains contrast with the mountains of Blacksburg, and while the citizens of the Bay Area fight smog, residents of Blacksburg cover their noses to guard against the smell of fresh manure.
“(California) is definitely different from here,” O’Neill said. “It’s more hectic I guess you could say. (It’s) not as relaxed because you can go more places you want.”
“The traffic is insane compared to here,” Record said.
Volleyball is a popular sport in California, giving them the opportunity to succeed.
“Volleyball is pretty popular on the West Coast,” Willoughby said. “You can see people on the beach. My friends are all into volleyball. Volleyball is in all the high schools. I think it’s pretty big back on the West Coast, but I think on the East Coast 4 it’s growing each year.”
“You rarely run into a bad team,” O’Neill said. “Throughout my high school career, because I was playing on like the No. 1 team in the nation, we never played a bad team. In club, you would always play the best teams.”
Despite the numerous differences between California and Virginia, Willoughby, Record and O’Neill all chose Blacksburg and Virginia Tech as their new home.
They’ve led the team to an 18-10 overall record and an 8-9 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Opposing teams struggle in Blacksburg, though. The Hokies carry an 11-3 record at Cassell Coliseum.
Willoughby, a junior middle blocker, is the oldest of the three Californians and might be the Hokies’ best player. Last year, she received All-American honorable mention and first-team All-ACC honors. She hit a single-season record .402 hitting percentage.
This year she’s hitting .306, which ranks second on the team.
Willoughby played at the same high level in high school. She finished her high school career by winning Bay Area Athlete of the Year, along with a trip to the state finals in 2006.
Thinking back to California, there’s one thing Willoughby misses the most.
“I love the beach,” Willoughby said. “Before I was looking at other schools, I was like ‘I have to go to a school by the beach,’ and I couldn’t go anywhere else. I’m nowhere near the beach right now — totally opposite of what I wanted.”
Before getting recruited, Willoughby didn’t know much about Tech.
“I knew about football and stuff,” Willoughby said.
It didn’t take much for Tech to win her over, though.
“(After getting recruitment letters) I was like, ‘Oh, it’s on the East Coast’,” she said. “I might as well go look at it and see how it is. The pictures in the brochure were pretty nice. I came to campus and loved it right when I stepped on campus. People are really nice, and the atmosphere, I just loved it here.”
Record, a sophomore outside hitter, took a different path to Blacksburg.
Besides playing in high school and winning the league title three of her four years, she competed in the 2008 Junior Olympic Girls’ Volleyball Championships. Her team won the bronze medal, but it was bittersweet.
“I actually didn’t play that much on that team,” Record said, “and I think I’ve grown as a player because of it. That was the first team I’ve been on where I wasn’t a starter. That was really difficult for me to watch people playing over me. So, I can relate to people who aren’t starting, but it was exciting to be a part of a team that won the bronze medal.”
Even with all the success in the Golden State, Record wanted a change.
Record said she “didn’t have any hesitations,” about leaving.
“I knew I was going to miss my friends and family a lot, but I knew that the people I was going to be with, my team and the coaches, I knew I would be OK.”
Record also added that she really enjoyed working with the coaches at Tech. “From the lifting coaches to the academic advisors, I just felt like it was the right fit academically and for volleyball,” she said. “And of course the campus is beautiful.”
Record is becoming a dominant player for the Hokies this year. She’s hitting .207 and leads the team in kills with 276. She also ranks second on the team in digs with 256.
O’Neill is the newcomer to the team. She’s a freshman who plays libero and outside hitter, and her role has increased throughout the season.
Coming from an elite program, O’Neill has the potential to be a great player.
O’Neill’s high school, Archbishop Mitty, was ranked first in the state and third in the nation for its athletics department by Sports Illustrated.
Her team won the state title in the spring, and O’Neill remembers the rush.
“(It was) thrilling,” she said. “There was so much adrenaline. It was one of my favorite matches because it was a really good team. I don’t know how to explain the feeling — it was just crazy.”
O’Neill’s high school team was different from Willoughby and Record’s because it had a distinctive attitude.
“My high school team could have beat Boston College,” O’Neill said. “At high school, it was more of a cocky, ‘we know we’re going to win’ behavior, while here it’s ‘we’re going to do whatever we can to win.’ We would go in knowing we’re the best and throw that on the other team. It’s two different attitudes.”
High school and college are two different animals, so making a comparison can be difficult.
“They’re completely different in how things are run,” O’Neill said, “so it’s kind of hard to compare. I played outside hitter and libero at my high school. It was a little bit more relaxed. Here it’s just like, ‘go, go.’ It’s two different atmospheres. I can’t describe it.”
Before getting recruited, O’Neill couldn’t tell you what a Hokie was.
“I didn’t even know (Tech) existed,” she said. “When Felicia came here, that was a great resource for me. That’s how I learned a lot.”
Another resource for O’Neill was Olympic beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh.
“Her cousins were on the team. I’ve met her like three or four times,” O’Neill said. “She’s so nice.”
Aside from high school play, O’Neill and Record both said they miss the California food.
“I miss sushi, Jamba Juice and In-N-Out Burger,” Record said.
“It’s delicious,” O’Neill said, refuting the comparison Five Guys. “In-N-Out has this special sauce, and the burritos are amazing.”
Traveling all those miles away from that great food and beaches might have been difficult, but the relaxed nature of Blacksburg strikes a good balance. The three Californians are bringing their own style and flare to the ’Burg, and they’re making waves on the court.