For Janna Merryfield '00, her talent in volleyball came as somewhat of a surprise.
"Somebody's dad told me they thought I'd be good," she said, and great success on the court followed.
Growing up outside of Seattle, Wash., Merryfield played soccer and basketball during her youth. However, she realized that these were not the sports for her.
"I'm not an aerobic person," she explained. "I'm more explosive."
Her explosiveness naturally lent itself to the intense jumping and sprinting of volleyball.
Merryfield began playing volleyball on her school team in seventh grade, and a year later began playing club volleyball. She continued playing for school through her years at Bellarmine Prep, and was named the Narrows League MVP in 1995.
Her school team was very successful, reaching the state tournament in both her junior and senior years. However, club volleyball was a different experience.
"Club volleyball is more like college volleyball," she said.
With her club team, she traveled to places like California and Oregon during the season. "Traveling is fun, and the coaching was better," Merryfield said, but she admitted that waking at 3 a.m. to attend tournaments was difficult.
Club was also where most college recruiting took place. However, Merryfield was not recruited by Dartmouth -- she came to visit the school on her own.
"When I visited Dartmouth, I was not overwhelmed by the beauty of the campus," she confesses. She was still interested, though, and continued to speak to Dartmouth students and the volleyball coaches.
"What I liked about Dartmouth was how they reached out to you," Merryfield said. "The volleyball coaches were fantastic, and their priorities are definitely straight."
She finally decided that Dartmouth was the college for her, and there was no turning back.
During her sophomore year, she led the Ivy League for number of digs in a season with 462, setting a Big Green record.
During that same season, Merryfield was named to the All-Ivy second team, as well as the All-Tournament team for the Ivy League Tournament. Her junior year saw another second team All-Ivy nomination, and she was named to the All-Tournament teams of both the Dartmouth Invitational and the Army Invitational.
Merryfield was also honored as a member of the Dartmouth Silver Anniversary volleyball team last year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Big Green women's volleyball.
In her senior year, Merryfield has already smashed two school records. In the game against Cornell, she set the school record for number of digs in a game with 33. Eight days later, while playing Pennsylvania, she had the best hitting percentage -- .517 -- of any Dartmouth volleyball player in a single game.
Merryfield also currently holds the record for number of digs in a career, pulling up over 1,170 -- and counting.
A key to Merryfield's success has been her off-season training with the team's strength coach.
"Lifting made me such a better player," she says. "It's paid off tremendously."
In fact, Merryfield has been recognized as a Strength and Conditioning All-American for her hard work.
Off the court, Merryfield is an English major and Environmental Studies minor with a love for Shakespeare. She studied at Oxford University in the winter of her junior year, playing for their volleyball team.
During her junior year, she was a member of the Green Key honor society.
This year, she is the house manager of the Delta Delta Delta sorority, and continues her work as a tutor in the composition center.
After college, Merryfield is looking to publishing as a possible career.
However, "I think volleyball will definitely be a part of my life," she said. "I can see myself coaching in some capacity."