SEQUIM — Megan Breckenridge showcased versatility, vision and an ability to lift her teammates’ spirits during Sequim’s run to the state volleyball tournament.
Breckenridge, who was named All-Olympic League 2A first team as an outside hitter, wasn’t confined to patrolling just one area of the court.
She contributed as an all-around player for the Wolves, seeing time on the front and back lines, as a point scorer on offense, a clutch defender and a server who kept 93 percent (223 of 240) of her serve attempts in play while picking up 27 aces.
“Megan is one of those kids that can really do everything,” Sequim coach Jennie Webber Heilman said.
“I would love to have six just like her.”
Breckenridge led the Wolves in digs with 298, and serve-receive passes with 123, while totaling 124 kills, which was second-most on the team.
Her play helped Sequim rally to win three straight loser-out district contests to advance to state for the first time since 2012.
Breckenridge’s performance has earned her the All-Peninsula Volleyball MVP as determined by a poll of area coaches and the Peninsula Daily News sports staff.
“She’s pretty flexible,” Webber Heilman said.
“We figured out pretty quick she needed to be playing as one of our primary defensive players and as an outside hitter.”
Breckenridge also was able to step up and become the focal point of the Wolves’ offense.
“In a lot of our matches she was our go-to hitter because she was our most consistent hitter,” Webber Heilman said.
“Opponents had a hard time blocking her because she contacts the ball pretty high, hitting the ball right at the net and putting pressure on their defense.
“There were several matches where I would tell the setters, ‘Just get it to Megan, they aren’t blocking her and we are scoring.’”
Breckenridge’s ability to collect serves and distribute the ball to setters to start attacks also was consistent.
“She was steady. We had her passing, whether she was front row or back row,” Webber Heilman said.
“That jump-starts our offense. When we can get the pass right to the setter, it makes the setters happy.
“She was also playing middle back on defense and always had to cover a lot of ground.”
Breckenridge also was able to lead by example out on the court.
“She had a really great attitude and could kind of fire people up because she was so competitive and wanted to win so badly,” Webber Heilman said.
“You look at her and you see kind of a tall, skinny girl and it’s deceiving. She’d start a scoring run and it was almost a ‘take that’ kind of thing.
“She’d even do that at practice, and it was quite entertaining.”
A California transplant who arrived at Sequim in time for her sophomore season, Breckenridge also has grown her game through club play, first with the Hood Canal Volleyball Club, and now with the Bremerton-based Olympic Premier Volleyball Club.
She pinpointed the Wolves’ 3-1 triumph over Kingston in a loser-out, winner-to-state match as her highlight of the season.
“That Kingston match was definitely the greatest moment ever,” Breckenridge said.
“Since we lost to Kingston twice in the regular season, and it was a big comeback for us and a huge win.”
The win capped a 5-1 run heading into state for a Sequim team (11-9) that struggled at times to put the right players in the proper positions.
“Our main goal was to just have fun,” Breckenridge said.
“A state trip is always a goal, and we made it this year, and that was amazing.
“But I’m also really proud on how we were able to build as a team. It was a great team, everybody loves each other, and we still like to hang out even though the season is over.”
Breckenridge will soon meet a new group of teammates, as she plans to sign to continue her career at The Evergreen State College. She will play libero for the Geoducks’ volleyball team this fall.
Libero is a defensive specialist position where serve-receive skills and ball control are valued.
The position seems tailored for Breckenridge’s skills.
“I think it will be a good fit, because playing all the way around I got to play all the different positions, and I have so much experience with serve-receive,” Breckenridge said.
Webber Heilman knows she’ll miss Breckenridge next season.
“Her versatility and her sense of humor are what I’ll miss most,” Webber Heilman said.
“It’s nice when things get tough, when it gets tight, it’s nice to have those moments where you can just have a laugh.”
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
