With only a month of collegiate play under her belt, freshman middle blocker Campbell McKinnon has already made a name for herself at Villanova.

McKinnon is one of the Wildcats’ rookie leaders on the court, averaging 3.23 points and 2.45 kills per set.

McKinnon is from Collierville, TN, a suburb of Memphis. McKinnon’s passion for volleyball stemmed from her mom, Andrea, and led her 1,000 miles away from her hometown to Villanova.

“My mom played volleyball in high school,” McKinnon said. “It wasn’t too serious for her, but she did enjoy it. She still wanted to introduce me to the sport, and it just grew from there.”

Like most kids, McKinnon was placed in a variety of extracurricular activities from a young age. In elementary school, McKinnon played soccer, and did ballet and gymnastics. She soon realized soccer was not for her, ballet was too boring, and that she did not have the flexibility for gymnastics.

McKinnon then started playing volleyball for her local league team in third grade. By sixth grade, McKinnon decided to join a club team called Memphis Volleyball Academy.

According to the MVA website, the club team is “a competitive volleyball club in the Mid-South area that offers consistent high-quality training in an intense and disciplined atmosphere from experienced coaches since 2010.”

McKinnon loved the her teammates and coaches so much at MVA that she ended up staying there for six years, until the end of high school.

“I started playing there in the sixth grade and then I never left,” McKinnon said. “I found a good coach and he helped me develop my skills early on, so I’m really grateful for the club and how far it’s gotten me.”

The South is not well-known for its competitive volleyball. As a result, McKinnon had to travel constantly to compete in middle school and high school. Throughout the years, McKinnon traveled to Texas, Georgia and the Midwest. The furthest destination Memphis Volleyball Academy brought her to was Las Vegas for the 2021 USA Volleyball national competition, where her team placed second in the country.

McKinnon’s high school achievements do not end there. McKinnon earned the district’s Regular Season Most Valuable Player Award two years in a row, and took home Collierville High’s Most Valuable Player Award for two consecutive years as well. By her junior year of high school, she was named the 2022 Volleyball Player of the Year by both The Commercial Appeal and Daily Memphian. Also in 2022, McKinnon led Collierville to the Tennessee Class AAA State Championship where it lost to Cleveland High School. McKinnon finished her high school career with a grand total of 1,464 kills and 363 blocks.

“When I got district and region honors as MVP, I thought it was cool just to be able to play at a high-level in our region and then make it to states,” McKinnon said. “Also, when we got runner up at nationals is definitely one of the highlights of my high school career.”

NCAA rules state that college coaches and prospective players cannot be in contact until their junior year. Once McKinnon officially gained junior status in June of 2022, she started reaching out to programs across the country. Villanova was not among the schools she reached out to.

Later that summer, McKinnon was playing in nationals when a Villanova coach noticed her.

Although her team placed fifth that year, the Villanova coaches reached out to her because they were intrigued with her skill level and agility on the court. A few months later, McKinnon announced that she had committed to Villanova. McKinnon recalls picking Villanova for its “strong athletic community and rigorous academics.”

Adjusting to the fast pace of Division I college volleyball, McKinnon is slowly finding her groove on the court. McKinnon attributes much of her development to her helpful upperclassmen teammates as well as the support of the Villanova coaching staff.

After only officially being a Wildcat for a few months now, McKinnon’s favorite team memory thus far was the team trip to Europe in June. She also says her favorite home victory this season was the game against Princeton on Sept. 7, where the Wildcats beat the Tigers in three straight sets.

McKinnon has been a starter for every game this season thus far. She is looking forward to conference play starting on Friday against Georgetown.

The game will kick off Family Weekend at Villanova in Jake Nevin Field House at 7 p.m.