By Bob Ratterman
A love of volleyball made Fairfield High School graduate Dana Hamblin turn down a job offer and go to college at the Middletown regional campus of Miami University. She is now in her senior year and playing at Miami’s Hamilton campus but her love of the sport has not diminished.
The Hamilton campus Harriers started slowly, going 2-2 in their first four matches, but Hamblin and Hamilton coach Sarah Dennis see a lot of potential and heart in the team can envision a bright future. That outlook may have gotten a bit brighter Wednesday night when the Miami regional campus teams faced off in Hamilton and the Harriers defeated the Middletown campus team 3-2.
“We have a lot of talent, so much potential, I feel, the potential to win state and conference,” Hamblin said. “It feels like a lot of best friends but we only met this year. So far, we are doing well putting things together as a team.”
Dana Hamblin photo by Lisa Back
It’s a new-look Hamilton team in 2011, including Hamblin who played three years at the Middletown campus and decided to switch campuses to be closer to home.
With a roster of three freshmen, two sophomores, one junior and two seniors, coach Dennis calls her team a “melting pot of volleyball skills.”
In addition to Hamblin, the other senior is Devon Wells, who played at Middletown High School. The roster is peppered with players from around the area—Ross, New Miami, Northwest, Edgewood, even Union County (Ind.) High School, in addition to Fairfield and Middletown.
“It’s all very new,” the coach said. “I have two players returning from last year, two who played in high school together and two who played with Miami Middletown. Everyone else is strangers who came together. They are incredibly talented young women.”
Hamblin loved it at Middletown but transferred this year to the Hamilton campus because of the shorter drive from her Fairfield home.
“It’s wonderful driving 10 minutes down the street,” she said. “After practice, I’m tired and (at Middletown), I knew I had a 45-minute drive home.”
Her coach is happy about the switch, too, calling her “a gift to this program,” and adding, “Her ability on the court and her leadership are incredible. She takes it personally when a ball hits the ground or when a teammate lets up. I have coached some good athletes but her combination of heart and ability is an asset to our team and an asset to anything she undertakes going forward.”
This week found her on the other side of the net when the Middletown team visited the Hamilton campus gym for a match in the Ohio Regional Campus Conference’s West Division. They will have a return match Oct. 5 in Middletown.
They also had a Sept. 11 matchup in the Titan Invitational, won by Middletown, but Hamblin saw some fight in her new team in that earlier MUM meeting. It was only one game in the match, but she felt her new team came together in a solid win in the first game.
“We all played our hearts out,” Hamblin said. “We won 25-12. It was an exciting moment that let the girls know how much skill and potential we had in there. It was a big moment for us.”
Hamblin said she enjoys the regional campus feel of sports and likes the atmosphere. She changed campuses primarily because Hamilton is closer to her Fairfield home and cuts the driving time home when she’s tired after practice and a day of classes. The volleyball is important to her.
“I love it. I’ve always loved to play,” she said. “A lot of people say if you play Division 1, it’s too much like a job, with 6 a.m. workouts, training. The fun aspect you kind of lose sight of. I love it here. I get to play. I get to have a family. I get to have a life outside. I have two sisters who play sports at Fairfield and I get to watch them play.”
She sees a lot of promise in this year’s Hamilton campus team and is proud to be a part of it. As a senior, she does not feel they are building for a future she will not share. She sees the chance for success this year.
Dennis, too, is optimistic about their chances this year and also continuing that into the future with a roster of only two seniors.
“I know it’s only been a couple games,” Dennis said. “They want to get out of the gate a million miles an hour, but it’s important to have the hard work and be there for each other and pick each other up. Seeing this through is important. The desire and heart are there.”
Hamblin said her high school volleyball career was a bit rocky, but she loved the sport and stayed with it.
Her junior year was her best in high school as she earned Student Athlete of the Week honors, as well as being named to the all-conference and all-city teams and was recognized in the top five performers for digs in the Cincinnati area.
Hamblin said another girl stepped during her senior year to the Libero position and Hamblin did not get to start, “Not even on Senior Night,” she added.
Although disappointed, she said she loved the sport so much that she practiced with the junior varsity team and jumped at the chance to play at Miami-Middletown, turning down a job she was offered at Cincinnati Financial.
She enjoys the style of play she finds at the college level. In high school she was limited to the role of setter but now is more of an all-around player and likes playing all aspects of the game.
“I’m becoming a hitter, getting a kill, setting a winning point. A kill is awesome,” she said. “I love volleyball. I’m passionate about it. I’m trying to start a volleyball club.”
She has two younger sisters who play sports at Fairfield High School. Her youngest sister is following in her footsteps with an interest in volleyball, but the middle sister is a soccer standout.
“Her heart is with soccer,” Hamblin said of her sister. Her youngest sister, 14, however, is “excelling in volleyball.”
Hamblin said she hopes to continue in volleyball even beyond this year. She thinks about after college working at a screen printing business because it is sports-related and to running a volleyball club…and to continue to play the sport.
“I’m going to figure out a way to play after this,” she said. “I don’t know where they are, but I’ll find ‘em.”
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