Wake Forest Athletics
Senior Margaret Davidson Has Helped Turn Around Deacon Volleyball
10/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 3, 2001
The journey's endDavidson has helped volleyball teamreach the heights
By Jay Reddick, writer for Gold Rush
When Margaret Davidson was a senior in high school, going through the recruiting process, Wake Forest's volleyball team was enduring an 8-24 season.
The team had a single ACC victory that year, and it looked like competing with the top of the league was a long way away.
But Davidson saw something. Something about the optimism of then-assistant coach Valorie Baker, something about the team, something about the campus and the school.
Whatever it was, Davidson committed to join the building effort, and ever since, the team's climb has been quicker than a hiccup.
Granted, she has had plenty of help as the team won 20 games for three straight seasons and finished among the top three in the conference twice.
But playing the key position of middle blocker, and joining Trina Maso de Moya as the only recruits to join in the fall of 1998, it's safe to say Davidson will be remembered as an X-factor in the Deacons' success.
"She has definitely been a contributor to making us better," Baker, now the Deacons' head coach, said. "We've made a quick jump, and she raised the level of play immediately."
Davidson was the starting middle blocker the day she enrolled at Wake Forest, both due to her talent and the fact that the team had little depth. In three-plus years, she has missed only two matches, even while the team has gained more and more top athletes.
"Our team is a lot more competitive now than when I first came in," Davidson said. "I'm battling for my position every day in practice, which is great."
The 6-foot-1 senior obviously has plenty to do with the team's defense, compiling three of the top four season blocks totals in school history. But Baker gives Davidson lots of credit for her role in the offense, too.
Middle blockers typically help to organize attacks, and Davidson's experience gives her plenty of familiarity with the court and her teammates.
As a result, this season, she leads the ACC not only in blocks (1.41 per game, a career high) but hitting percentage (.379).
"We've depended on her offensively," Baker said. "Thanks to her and others, we have a good ball-control team, which was a goal for this season."
It almost didn't happen that way. A subluxation (temporary dislocation) of her shoulder last winter led to surgery in March.
Davidson didn't pick up a ball until July, and wasn't permitted to swing fully until one week before the Deacons' first match of the 2001 season.
Davidson describes the feeling this way: "It's like taking your shoulder and putting it on my body." Still, she says it feels almost natural now.
"I'm honestly still adjusting," she said. "It took me until about mid-September to adjust really well to it. They tightened the tendons and shrunk the capsule. You're used to your arm being loose and going where you want it to go, and it's different."
Davidson spent the first session of summer school in on-campus rehab, then went home to Huntsville, Ala., for the last half of the summer, where she continued strengthening the muscle while getting it used to hitting a colleyball again.
"My club coach ran a youth camp, which I helped out with," Davidson said. "I was the coach of my little cousin's school team. Then I was a counselor at a church camp in Iowa, and a bunch of us played there whenever we could."
Then, it was back to work in Winston-Salem. The team has gone through a rough spot or two early in the season, but Davidson is confident the Deacons can come back.
"I've been OK with the way I've been playing," Davidson said. "As a team, we have a long way to go, but by the end of the season, I think we'll be playing our best. We're improving every day."
She says the main hurdle Wake Forest must overcome is lapses in focus.
"It's just certain points during the match when we're down," she said. "If we can keep our level the same consistently, we can do better."
After trying one last time to reach the goals of an ACC championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament, Davidson is considering a professional volleyball career, perhaps with a team starting up in Atlanta. If not, she plans to go into pharmaceutical sales, but Baker hopes she gives the sport another shot.
"I think she would have a great chance to get a spot," Baker said. "She's one of the best middles I've ever coached, a positive kid and a great role model. We'll definitely miss her on the squad."
