Unlike her brothers Nick and Lee, Danielle Meyer had only three matches in Worthen Arena to make an impression. After scoring 42 kills in three three-set matches and earning the 2007 Ball State Active Ankle Challenge Most Valuable Player award, the mission was accomplished.
Danielle, a senior at The Ohio State University, is the second Meyer to play in Worthen Arena. Her brother Nick played four years for the Cardinals and is fifth all-time in kills at Ball State University.
"I've come to so many games here just to watch Nick play, and it's fun to play in an arena you've seen so often." Danielle said. "I knew the [men's] team would be here heckling."
Danielle and Nick's younger brother, Lee, is a freshman on the Ball State men's volleyball team.
"It's sorta neat," their father Daniel said. "Having our oldest son just graduate from here, and then our daughter getting to play here, and that being her only chance to play here, and then our youngest son playing his four years here. So, it's sort of a neat transition between our sons being here."
While they come from the same family, the three Meyer siblings all play different positions. Danielle plays middle, while Nick played on the right side and Lee is on the outside.
They also have different personalities on the court, their mother Lynn said.
"Nick was more of a quiet, gentle giant, while Danielle plays with a lot more visible energy," Lynn said.
For the Meyer's, volleyball was almost a natural thing. Both parents played volleyball competitively as adults and, from an early age, the Meyer children played volleyball.
"I played until I had Lee," Lynn said. "I started coaching all the kids in grade school and [Daniel] took over in high school."
The Meyer's youngest child, Jennifer, is a junior in high school.
In the backyard of the Meyer house in Cincinnati is a recently installed sand volleyball court for the rare times when all six Meyers are in town.
"[Those games are] just as competitive as you'll see out here," Daniel said. "No one in our family takes losing."
Danielle says they are occasionally able to arrange doubles matches between the four siblings,
"We definitely get some good doubles games going," Jennifer said. "Lee's kind of the king of sand court. That's kind of hard to admit."
The parents still play from time to time against the kids.
"We're a little bit easier on mom," Danielle said. "Just to keep her confidence up, help her feel good about ourselves. Dad kind of eggs us on, he's probably the most competitive out of all of us."
While they played other sports, volleyball became the sport of choice for the Meyer children.
"They grew up on the courts, basically," Daniel said. "We think it's the greatest game going, and it's neat because we can all play together as a family."
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