Volleyball's 25: Meg Fitzgerald
Friday, August 15, 2008 | Volleyball
By: Sean Cartell
UF Communications
Editor's Note: This is the 11th of a 25-part daily series on GatorZone.com honoring the great players in Florida volleyball history (in no particular rank or order) leading up to the start of the 25th season since Gator volleyball was reinstated as a varsity sport prior to the 1984 campaign.
When looking back through the Florida volleyball record books, it is easy for fans to remember those players who were known for their dynamic kills, their missile-like serves, their powerful blocks and their acrobatic sets.
But as Florida head coach Mary Wise sees it, the top players to come through her program aren't necessarily the ones that drew the most attention, garnered the most awards or compiled the most press clippings.
She found that player in former Gator Meg Fitzgerald. As Gainesville Sun columnist Pat Dooley wrote in a Dec. 8, 1994 article entitled Fitzgerald is as good as she is unheralded, “Every team needs a player like Fitzgerald, consistent, steady, versatile. Florida is fortunate she left New Orleans to attend school in Gainesville.”
Fitzgerald grew up in a sports-oriented family in New Orleans. Her father Billy had played basketball and baseball collegiately at Tulane, and had played Minor League Baseball for several seasons. He was a longtime coach of the basketball team at Newman High School, from which Meg graduated.
Fitzgerald had been named to the Volleyball Monthly Fab-50 team, which lists the top 50 high school seniors in the nation. She was a two-time All-America selection by the magazine and was named the state of Louisiana's Most Valuable Player in 1991. She led Newman to three state championships and her Cajunland club team finished fifth at nationals in 1990. She also was a member of the 1990 Magnum All-Star team which competed in Japan in 1991 and toured Canada in 1990.
The experience that Fitzgerald gained by playing in Japan would last a lifetime – and the lessons she learned had nothing to do with volleyball.
“I remember walking into the gym the first night,” Fitzgerald told Michelle Thresher of the Florida Alligator in an Oct. 14, 1992 article. “Our coach had already said 'Listen, you're going to see the coaches beat the players and I don't want you to shed one tear.' I saw this girl get hit in the face and I started to tear up. My coach just yelled at me and said 'You do not cry here.'”
Fitzgerald also saw a player practicing late into the night. “She had two little pieces of tissue shoved up her nose because it was bleeding so bad. Then she fell on the ground and the coach picked her up by her hair and kicked her.”
Learning how other countries treated volleyball and its athletes taught Fitzgerald to “appreciate the little things that are denied to volleyball players in the Japanese culture – boyfriends and free time,” Thresher wrote.
“It kind of made me realize how fortunate I am to be able to do the things I do and still play volleyball,” Fitzgerald told the Alligator. “It almost makes you not want to play if you have all of those restrictions.”
Wise was happy to welcome Fitzgerald to her team in 1992, explaining her vision for the program, but also placing an emphasis on enjoying the collegiate experience.
“We feel the thing we can offer when they come to Florida is that they'll be successful and they're going to win,” Wise told the Alligator. “They can enjoy themselves at the same time. You're doing it. You might as well enjoy it.”
Her freshman season of 1992, Fitzgerald started as an outside hitter in every match and earned All-Southeastern Conference second-team honors. She posted a career-high 19 digs vs. Texas in the NCAA South Region Championship that helped catapult the Gators to the first NCAA Final Four in program history. Fitzgerald finished the season ranked second on the team in digs (304) and fourth in kills (234), and also had an impressive showing in the team's national semifinal match with a career-high-tying four service aces.
“Meg is a solid player who one day could reach the elite class,” Wise told New Orleans Times-Picayune Sports Editor Peter Finney in a July 31, 1993 article. “She had an outstanding freshman season and, and she's one of the reasons we did so well. Meg has great ball-control skills. She's excellent at receiving serve. She's not only very competitive; she's the kind who doesn't get rattled in the heat of battle.”
That summer, Fitzgerald, 6-foot, had served as the captain of the North team at the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival. That team captured the bronze medal at the event.
“Meg was on the Olympic Festival team this summer and that will be a great experience for her,” Wise said in the outlook section of the team's 1993 media guide. “She really came along this spring and we look for her to play an important role in our offense. She is probably our most consistent passer.”
Her sophomore season, Fitzgerald played in each of the team's matches and taking full advantage of being the team's best passer. That role put Fitzgerald in a situation where she was not necessarily the headline player, but the team couldn't have been successful without her.
“Passing is easily the one thing I do best,” Fitzgerald told Jim Harvin of Gator Bait. “Unfortunately, it's not one of the most noticeable things about the game. It's not a crowd-pleaser, but nevertheless it's a very important part of the game.”
Wise agreed that Fitzgerald's role on the team was not one of the flashiest positions, but was one of the most critical.
“What Meg gives us is consistency,” Wise said. “She may not be a flashy player, but she is our best passer, one of our best defenders, a very good blocker and has the ability to score. She's got that winner-type personality that every team needs.”
She finished the 1993 season as a second-team All-SEC selection for the second consecutive year, finishing second on the team in digs (272) and fourth in kills (229), service aces (31) and blocks (57).
Fitzgerald's play in Florida's NCAA second-round match against Houston caught the eye of UH coach Bill Walton, who called his performance a key to the Gators winning the match.
“We were geared up for Aycan, but all of a sudden in that second game, Fitzgerald had about four straight digs and three kills and turned it around,” Walton told Dooley of the Gainesville Sun.
The Gators again advanced to the NCAA Final Four that season, knocking off Texas in four games.
That match had special meaning for Fitzgerald, who had always dreamed of playing for the Longhorns.
“I wanted to go to Texas ever since I was a freshman in high school,” Fitzgerald told Jim Peery of the Florida Alligator. “I had thought that was really the place for me.”
But Fitzgerald visited Austin and realized Texas' volleyball philosophy didn't mesh with her own. Fortunately for her, she found that place in Florida.
“It was a huge shock,” Fitzgerald said. “I had my heart set on going there forever. It was kind of a bummer at the time. But now, no way would I ever change my decision. I came here and I love it.”
With a talented corps of outside hitters on the team and Fitzgerald's proficiency at the defensive aspect of the game, she assumed a primarily back-row position heading into the 1994 season – her junior year.
“Meg will give us the stability of an excellent passer,” Wise said in the outlook section of the team's 1994 media guide. “She gets the job done, night in and night out.”
Fitzgerald's role was described in a Nov. 21, 1994 article in the Alligator entitled Gators' Fitzgerald plays in shadows.
“UF volleyball player Meg Fitzgerald is not concerned with receiving headlines or recognition,” the article began. “She would just as soon leave that to her teammates.”
“I really haven't been a star player,” Fitzgerald told Alligator writer Scott Stolze. “I haven't been an Aycan (Gokberk), and I'm not what you'd call a dynamic hitter. My roll on this team is to pass the ball and play defense so those dynamic players can swing. I've always been comfortable with that. I don't need to be the star.”
Despite her success, when the All-SEC teams were announced that season, Fitzgerald's name was nowhere to be found.
“I was very proud of the fact that we had four players that made first-team,” Fitzgerald told the Alligator. “I'm not into awards. If I get it, that's nice, but that's not why I'm here. I'm really just trying to do my job and trying to get this team to win.”
In addition to her prowess on defense, Fitzgerald starred offensively during the team's 1994 SEC Tournament Title, recording 37 kills over UF's three matches.
“She's playing with so much poise and confidence right now,” Wise told the Alligator. “And when Meg does that, I think that rubs off on everybody on the team. I'm really happy for Meg because she's a player that has often times gone unrecognized. But she knows, and her teammates know, how important she is to our team's success
“I think she was sending a message in the tournament,” Wise told the Gainesville Sun. “She WAS in a zone. And it wasn't just her hitting. I've seen players get into a zone where they're hitting really well or passing really well. She was doing everything really well.”
Fitzgerald finished that season ranked second on the team in digs (281) and fourth in kills (227), recording a season-high 16 digs on three different occasions. She charted double-digit digs in 12 matches and double-digit kills in eight matches.
While her efforts may not have gotten her recognition from the SEC's annual awards, Wise said that Fitzgerald's play was a stabilizing factor for the Gators.
“It has been a common denominator,” Wise told Dooley of the Gainesville Sun. “In all of our big matches, Meg has been a part of it. She accepted her role when she came here. She was really a go-to player in high school, but she adjusted. She may not always jump out in the statistics, but her teammates know what she's doing.
“What she brings to the court is amazing,” Wise continued. “She'd play anywhere we asked her to just be out there playing.”
Fitzgerald's consistency and whatever-it-takes attitude had established her as a leader on the team heading into her senior season of 1995, as Fitzgerald was named one of the team's captains.
“Meg Fitzgerald is the best passing and defensive player we've had here,” Wise said in the outlook section of the team's 1995 media guide. “Meg will give us great play on a consistent basis. She has the ability to make everyone around her successful.”
The “Quiet Captain” as an Oct. 13, 1995 column by the Gainesville Sun's Paul Jenkins detailed Fitzgerald and the good example she set for her teammates.
“Meg is going to be overlooked for a lot of the awards and accolades,” Wise told Jenkins. “But that's one of the reasons the team voted her to be captain. It sent her a message that we know what she means to this team.”
By the time her senior season rolled around, Fitzgerald was comfortable with the role she was playing and took the job of captain very seriously.
“Every kid coming out of high school thinks that they are all-world,” Fitzgerald told Jenkins. “I was quickly humbled when I got here. I'm not the big gun on this team. My job is to play defense, block and when the team needs my offense, hopefully I'll step in and kill the ball.
“I can't tell you a date when I finally accepted my role on this team,” Fitzgerald continued. “I just know it wasn't during my first two years here. Back then, I had a lot of doubts about my ability as a player because I wasn't getting as many kills as I wanted. I had always put hitting up there at the top of the list.”
Teammate Jenny Wood, in her description of Fitzgerald, described a captain who served as a role model for the other squad members.
“She's well-rounded as a player and she's in it for the team,” Wood said. “She just wants to win. When we're in chaos during a point, Meg is the one who will step in with the big dig or control pass. She's our backbone.”
Backbone, indeed.
Fitzgerald finished her career ranked third on Florida's all-time career digs list with 1,171 digs. Her senior season, Fitzgerald was not again overlooked by all-league team voters. She was deservedly named to the All-SEC second team after becoming just the third Gator to that point to reach the 1,000-dig milestone.
Fitzgerald posted double-digit digs in 11 matches and ranked second in the SEC in aces per game (0.44). Fitzgerald finished the season second on the team in digs per game with 2.68.
Fitzgerald concluded her career with a career-high 23 digs, but the Gators lost to Texas in the NCAA East Regional Championship and were denied a berth to the NCAA Final Four.
Despite the loss, Fitzgerald had demonstrated, during her four-year career, the work-ethic and team-first attitude that would become a cornerstone of Wise's program. And Fitzgerald's own program.
She followed in her father's footsteps, becoming a collegiate coach – first as an assistant coach at Colorado and later as the head coach at Rollins and UCF.
“There was nothing about Meg Fitzgerald that would have led you to believe that she was going to go into coaching,” Wise told Alligator writer Daryl Presgraves in a Dec. 5, 1996 article. “I used to always tell her it was in her blood, but she was just never interested.”
“I think it is in my blood after all,” Fitzgerald quipped.
END OF REPORT
