Volleyball's 25: Angie McGinnis
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 | Volleyball
By: Sean Cartell
UF Communications
Editor's Note: This is the 15th 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.
In every great student-athlete, there is usually one trait that can be pointed to as the difference-maker between being average and being the best. For former Florida All-America setter Angie McGinnis (2004-07), there were many factors that set her apart from the competition – her talent, her skill and her intensity. But the defining factor was her intensity.
McGinnis, who was selected to the 19-player preliminary United States roster for the 2008 Olympic Games, once ran two miles home after a full session of practice in high school just to tame that intensity.
“I remember one day, I ran two miles home after practice, and my mom wondered why I wanted to run after hours of practicing,” McGinnis said in the UF College of Education Times. “It's just that I have so much intensity and it keeps me going.”
McGinnis grew up around volleyball, as her older cousin Kelly Price would go on to play for Loyola-Chicago. McGinnis and her sister spent hours watching their cousin play and shagging balls at matches. But, it was her father Pat who tried to steer McGinnis to the game.
“When they were little, I bought them a $5,000 sport court in the back yard,” McGinnis' father told Alligator writer Josh Armstrong in a Dec. 5, 2006 article. “Whenever they'd walk out the back door, they'd have 10 volleyballs sitting right there. That's really what gave them a lot of their skills.”
Named Michigan's Miss Volleyball in 2004, McGinnis was a two-time Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year in 2002 and 2003. She was named the No. 2 recruit in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com and the top setter in her class. McGinnis set her high school records for assists in a season, setting attempts in a season, career service aces and blocks in a season.
McGinnis was chosen as a member of the USA Junior National Team in 2004 and was named the best setter at the 2004 NORCECA Championships, where the United States won the Gold Medal. She also was the starting setter for the USA Youth National Team that competed in the summer of 2003 and advanced to the Final Four. One of the defining moments of her high school career was her service ace at match point that led Fraser High School to its second-consecutive Class A state title.
McGinnis also had been noted for her strong academics, as she was an honor roll member in each of her four years in high school, maintaining at least a 3.85 grade point average each of those years.
McGinnis also played basketball in high school where her high school coach Dave Kuppe said in a Dec. 10, 2003 article in the Fraser-Clinton Township Chronicle “Angie is the most competitive person I've ever been around. She doesn't like to lose in anything, not even in practice. Her competitiveness rubbed off on the rest of the team. Everyone got better just by watching her in practice.”
McGinnis agreed with that sentiment in an article in the Detroit News.
“I hate to lose. I hate it more than anything. I am going to do everything I possibly can to help my team win. That's how I've always been.”
McGinnis chose to attend Florida, nearly 1,000 miles from her hometown of Fraser, Mich., despite never having previously considered the school. But a call from Florida head coach Mary Wise caught McGinnis' attention and she liked what she saw during an unofficial visit to the campus.
McGinnis entered her rookie season as the back-up setter behind Lauren Moscovic, who had helped lead the Gators to their first-ever NCAA National Championship match appearance in school history the previous season. Due to McGinnis' prowess as a setter and a depleted Florida back line, both began regularly seeing time with Moscovic playing the role of a defensive specialist.
McGinnis broke out in a match against No. 15 Kansas State, played in Minneapolis, in which the Gators trailed 2-1 and rallied for a five-game victory. She notched the first double-double of her Gator career with 36 assists and 11 digs. In the team's Southeastern Conference opener that season at Arkansas, McGinnis recorded a then-career-high 49 assists to complement 10 digs. With that win, Florida set an NCAA record by winning its 107th consecutive match in SEC play.
With McGinnis as a regular in the starting lineup, the rookie narrowly missed a triple-double in a home loss to No. 18 Texas. She finished with seven kills, 34 assists and nine digs. In a road match at Mississippi State late in the SEC season, McGinnis charted 34 assists and 10 digs, while adding seven block assists. Wise was pleased with McGinnis' blocking performance, and noted it as one of the team's keys to success.
“We know that blocking is one of the more difficult skills to teach and we're really coming along in that department,” Wise said in a press release from Starkville following the match. “Having Angie is huge because she's the best blocking setter that we've ever had.”
The Gators fell to Stanford that season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the first and only time in Wise's tenure that the Gators have not advanced to at least the NCAA Regional Semifinals. McGinnis was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and was named an All-SEC second-team selection.
McGinnis finished her rookie season with 10 double-doubles and just barely missed a triple-double on several occasions. She had gained valuable experience as a freshman, starting the majority of the team's matches and setting the school record for assists per game by a freshman with 11.03.
“I was hoping to start,” McGinnis said in a Sept. 16, 2005 article in the Gainesville Sun. “But I wasn't expecting it. I think the situation with Lauren and me helped out because she was able to add defense with me being able to be our setter.”
That summer, McGinnis had the opportunity to play with the national team that went to the Pan Am Games, giving McGinnis more experience against high-level competition.
“I didn't get to play as much as I hoped to in Santo Domingo,” McGinnis said. “But I got to practice against the best college players in the country every day and that can only help. I think I learned a lot, and I hope that translates into making me a better player in the fall.”
Wise was impressed with the play of McGinnis during her freshman season and knew that, as just a sophomore, McGinnis had the opportunity to be one of the nation's best in 2005.
“It's difficult enough to start as a freshman,” Wise said in the outlook section of the team's 2005 media guide. “But to start as a freshman setter is even more difficult. Angie handled the responsibility with surprising maturity. She has proven herself to be one of the top setters in the country with her best volleyball still ahead of her.”
At the time, McGinnis' situation mirrored that of Florida football quarterback Chris Leak, who took over for veteran Ingle Martin in the midst of his rookie campaign. In an article by Franz Beard in Gatorcountry.com, Wise compared McGinnis' leadership as a freshman to that of her football counterpart.
“There was a tremendous similarity in what Chris Leak did as a freshman with what Angie had to do when she was a freshman last year,” Wise told Beard. “She had to take over for an upperclassman and play a position that is critical to any success that we can have. In volleyball, if the setter's off even a fraction, your entire offense can sputter. I thought she kept making progress the entire season.”
Wise knew that McGinnis' play would be critical to the team's success in 2005, saying that she would have to take on a great deal of responsibility in just her second year with the team.
“Because she's our only experienced setter, you could say that how well we do this year begins and ends with Angie,” Wise said. “That's a whole lot of faith to put in one player, but she has our confidence. There is no question that she has the ability to take us where we want to go. We believe she can handle it. She's got that ability to make the players around her better.”
Halfway through her sophomore season, McGinnis achieved the feat that she had been flirting with since arriving in Gainesville. She notched the first triple-double in Florida history in a match against Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., with 10 kills, 22 digs and 56 assists, but it wasn't enough to knock off the Lady Vols in a five-game thriller.
“Angie was really good today and I couldn't be more proud of the way we competed out there,” Wise said in a press release following the match. “It was a championship-level atmosphere and Tennessee really pulled out all the stops. I think the maturity of their players was a big factor in the outcome.”
The Gators marched on to the SEC regular-season and tournament titles that season and swept past Florida Atlantic, Kansas State and Louisville to advance to the Elite Eight. In the team's round of 16 match with Louisville, McGinnis broke Florida's record for assists by a sophomore with 1,546.
Following her sophomore season, McGinnis was named a third-team AVCA All-America selection in addition to being named to the All-SEC First Team and the AVCA All-South Region team. She finished ninth in the nation in assists per game (13.46).
McGinnis became the first setter since Jen Sanchez in 1998 to earn All-America honor and she led the SEC in assists that season. McGinnis was named to the all-tournament team of all six tournaments that the Gators played in.
As sports information contact Mike Vietti wrote in the outlook section of the team's 1995 media guide, “Pick any statistics – assists, kills, blocks, hitting percentage – it doesn't matter. Through her first two seasons at Florida, junior Angie McGinnis ranks No. 1 among setters in every category. Already one of the finest setters in the nation, McGinnis is on the cusp of ranking as one of the best setters in the world for her age.”
The summer before her junior year, McGinnis had the opportunity to train with the USA National Team from mid-May until the end of June, giving her additional high-level experience and taking her game to the next level.
“They practice twice a day from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. and then they have a few hours break and then you have another three-hour practice in the afternoon and then you lift and condition after that,” McGinnis told Alligator writer Jenna Marina in an Aug. 23, 2006 article detailing her USA National Team experience. “So you basically eat, sleep and play volleyball. You get Sundays off, but then you want to sleep.”
In one of the first matches the Gators would play in the 2006 season, McGinnis would be facing her sister Mary, a freshman outside hitter for Illinois State. This time the match would be played in the O'Connell Center and not on the sport court in the McGinnis family backyard.
“I'm not sure if I'm going to enjoy it,” McGinnis' mother Dawn told Brandon Zimmerman of the Gainesville Sun in a Sept. 9, 2006 article. “Someone is going to lose. But someone is also going to be very happy.”
Wise was quick to explain to McGinnis that there was more riding on the match than beating her sister.
“We did talk to Angie and let her know that this match isn't Angie vs. Mary,” Wise told Zimmerman. “But knowing the McGinnis family, they may see it differently.”
The Gators won that match 3-0 on the final day of the Campus USA Credit Union Invitational.
In a 3-1 win against Florida State early in her junior year, McGinnis set the school record for career kills by a setter, surpassing Sanchez's total of 279, recorded from 1996-99. In a home win against Alabama later that season, she also eclipsed Sanchez's record for block assists in a career.
McGinnis then charted her third career triple-double, also the third in school history, in a home sweep of Georgia with 41 assists, 14 digs and 10 kills in just three games.
“Today, the Gators brought their 'A' game,” Wise said in a press release following the match. “The team really performed well in so many different areas. Angie McGinnis had a triple-double in three games – that is special.”
On the road against Tennessee in mid-November of 2006, McGinnis finished with 61 assists, making her the fastest player in school history to record 4,000 career dishes.
Following the SEC season, McGinnis was sitting in class when she received a text message from her mother, requesting that McGinnis call her immediately. McGinnis' mother was calling to tell her daughter that she had been named SEC Player of the Year.
“”She was screaming into the phone,” McGinnis told the Gainesville Sun. “I was in class so I couldn't scream.”
McGinnis was the first setter ever to earn the honor in the 15-year history of the award.
“There have been some talented setters to come through this conference,” Wise told the Gainesville Sun's Zimmerman. “For her to be the first one to be named player of the year is quite an accomplishment.”
Teammate Amber McCray agreed.
“That is an award that is well deserved,” McCray told Zimmerman. “Angie has proven that she is a great player. She is more than a setter. She blocks, she digs, she gets kills for us. She does everything.”
The Gators advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinal that season before falling to Minnesota. McGinnis was named an AVCA first-team All-America selection and earned the same honors from Volleyball Magazine. She was an AVCA All-South Region selection and earned the Ben Hill Griffin Award as UF's top athlete.
McGinnis ranked second in the SEC that season in assists per game (13.23) and 22nd nationally in that category. She set 14 school single-season and career records during the year. She set the Gators to the third-best team hitting percentage (.292) in the nation. She recorded two triple-doubles during the season and 10 double-doubles. She was third among all players in hitting percentage (.343) and fourth in blocks per game (1.00).
Following her junior season, the ultra-competitive McGinnis was suffering from a little bit of burnout after spending the previous four summers training with the U.S. National Team. She went back home to Fraser for the Summer A session to get away from it all and came back a new person.
“Angie taking a break from volleyball was probably the best thing for her,” Teammate Kisya Killingsworth told the Gainesville Sun in an Oct. 10, 2007 article. “She came back a whole new person, a whole new setter.”
She returned during Summer B to train with strength and conditioning coach Matt DeLancey, the first summer she had worked with him since coming to UF.
“For Angie just to have some time to have her body recover was important.” Wise told the Gainesville Sun. “The best part of her summer wasn't her time off in Summer A, but it was her work with Matt DeLancey in Summer B. Some of the things Angie is doing now is because she's so much stronger. This was the first time Matt could work with her in the summer.”
Wise said the work in the weight room was an added addition.
“She did not come to us as the strongest of players,” Wise said. “She can go low for a pass where before her legs wouldn't support her. She's a gymnast who can now stick her landings.”
On Oct. 5, 2007, in a match against Kentucky, McGinnis broke a 15-year-old record for career assists when she set Killingsworth for a kill in game one of the match. McGinnis was quick to credit her teammates for allowing her to break that record.
“I think that obviously you're not going to get as many assists if people aren't killing the ball,” McGinnis said. “So that's one of those records that goes out to the whole team.
“That's a pretty awesome accomplishment,” McGinnis continued. “But, getting a chance to play for a great volleyball team and getting a chance to start all four years is the only reason that is happening.”
Two days later in a match against Tennessee, former Gator Heidi Anderson, who previously held the record, presented McGinnis with a game ball and a bouquet of flowers before the match.
“I didn't even know she was coming until before the match,” McGinnis told the Florida Alligator in an Oct. 8, 2007 article. “I had never met her, and I got introduced to her before the match, so that was pretty awesome.”
“It's amazing! That was a statistic that was earned back in side-out scoring,” Wise told the Alligator. “The game has changed in rally scoring. I wasn't sure when Heidi set it that it would ever be broken. So to not only break it, but to break it in rally scoring tells you just what a great setter that Angie has been for our program.”
McCray noted that each of the Gators shared in the excitement of McGinnis' career assists record.
“The girl is amazing,” McCray said. “She's proven that since she came in her freshman year and that she's going to be a star. She's really just worked hard every year to get even better every year, and that's just a testament to her work-ethic and the type of player she is. I'm really happy for her.”
The Gators advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinals in 2007 before falling to Texas in the round of 16 match-up.
McGinnis was an AVCA second-team All-America selection and became just the fourth player in school history to be named an AVCA All-American three times. She was named the SEC's Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, marking only the fifth time in conference history that a player has earned that honor on multiple occasions.
McGinnis finished her Florida tenure with 5,784 assists and became the only setter in school history to amass 5,000-plus assists in a career. She broke the program's single-season assists record with an average of 13.88 per game, a mark that led the SEC and ranked sixth in the nation. She also hit .300 or better in each of her four seasons.
“As a setter you have to want to be a leader,” McGinnis told Fightin Gator. “You have to want to lead the team and help make the players you play with better. There's pressure, but you've got to want the pressure if you want to be a good leader. I think it's in me. This is what I've always wanted to do.”
| From the Vault |
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| McGinnis' 2004 Player Profile Questionnaire |
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| Hobbies/Interests: Shopping, shooting hoops, eating, hanging out with friends. |
| Why did you choose Florida? The coach and players, and, of course, the wonderful weather. |
| In addition to UF, what other schools did you seriously consider and visit? USC, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Stanford. |
| Who do you admire most in life and why? My mother and father because they are the most supportive people I know. They are very loving, kind and funny. |
| What will be your goals and objectives at Florida: To enjoy the whole college experience, play great volleyball and get a great education. |
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| Did you have/do you have any relatives playing college sports? Uncle, Bob McGinnis – College Basketball, Dayton; Mother, Dawn McGinnis – College Track, University of Michigan, Father, Pat McGinnis – College Track, Eastern Michigan University; Cousin, Kelly Price – College Volleyball, Loyola-Chicago |
END OF REPORT
