Bringing a new coaching staff into any college sport dampens recruiting classes. In the case of the WSU volleyball team it meant the new staff only had time to secure one recruit, a transfer from the University of Oregon.
Sophomore Camryn Irwin jumped on the opportunity for more playing time once Oregon granted her a release and WSU Head Coach Jen Greeny offered her a spot on the WSU team.
Just like her teammate, junior Rachel Todorovich, Camryn got her start in volleyball by following in her sisters' footsteps.
“When I was about five years old, both of my older sisters played volleyball,” Irwin said. “My older sister, who’s now 25 years old, played all through middle school and high school and then played at Point Loma Nazarene University. My other sister is 20 and also played all through middle school and high school. Now she’s at George Fox University in Portland. A whole family of volleyball.”
Playing in the Pac-10 (now Pac-12) has been a lifelong dream for Irwin, so when the opportunity presented itself at WSU she took advantage.
“Since I was about five I wanted to play Pac-12 volleyball, well, Pac-10 then,” Irwin said. “So when I heard Jen Greeny had the job, I’d heard a lot about Greeny, she’s an awesome person and an awesome coach. I knew right away that (WSU) was definitely a school I was interested in.”
It was a perfect fit at first sight for Irwin when she made her initial trip to Pullman.
“I fell in love with the school, fell in love with Pullman,” Irwin said. “The community was just great. A lot of the athletic staff is awesome and really friendly, everyone just really wants to help you in Pullman. I love it here. I’m more than happy.”
Being the sole recruit on a team full of players hand-picked by another coaching staff is an unusual situation, but Irwin feels that is has gone over just fine.
“It kind of puts a little bit of pressure on me, but not so much that I feel overwhelmed by it by any means,” Irwin said. “These girls, everyone on the team is taking really well to the coaching staff and everyone is putting their trust and respect absolutely into the coaching staff. As a first-year coach, I think Jen is more than happy with that.”
