Myrtle Beach High junior Meagan Milligan is accustomed to playing for state championships. But not at Myrtle Beach.
She transferred from Lake Worth Christian School in Boynton Beach, Fla., where she played in the four-team state championship finals as both a freshman and a sophomore.
She wanted her new Seahawks teammates to share that experience this year, and she helped them do just that with a performance worthy of her selection as The Sun News Toast of the Coast Volleyball Player of the Year.
The Seahawks reached the state championship match for the first time, finishing as the Class AAA runner-up to Eastside.
“I’m happy the girls on my team got to experience what I’ve experience in Florida,” Milligan said. “… It was good for them to finally get the recognition.”
The 6-foot athletic 17-year-old is a powerful hitter who averaged 12.4 kills and 3.3 blocker per match and teamed with an experienced group of seniors to go undefeated in Region VIII-AAA and enjoy playoff success.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better year,” Milligan said. “Like everyone on the team I wish we had won, but to get there, and to set a new record for the school, it’s almost equivalent to winning a state championship title.”
Just as Milligan made the Seahawks better, transferring to Myrtle Beach made her better. She was predominantly a hitter in Florida, and was asked to become more versatile and play multiple positions for Seahawks coach Larry Church.
“You can’t really focus on one area of volleyball because it’s not going to get you anywhere,” Milligan said. “It will take you further if you have all-around skills rather than just being good in one thing. I feel I’ve evened it out. In Florida I didn’t serve, and here I serve, pass and do all those things. It helps you understand the game better because you see things differently from the back row and front row. Now I see the openings better from the back row.”
Milligan is playing on the traveling Grand Strand Juniors club team this winter and hopes to play some beach volleyball this summer. “I love the beach to begin with, so playing volleyball on the beach is a win-win situation,” she said.
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