A trip to Rolla in June was a memorable one for Megan Pierson.

The Montgomery County junior left the Phelps County city with a big award after turning in a strong performance at libero at the Licking Volleyball Camp. She was one of 10 players named to the all-camp team that also included players from St. Clair, Owensville, Rolla and New Haven.

The award definitely gave Pierson a big boost of confidence for the 2025 volleyball season.

“We were actually camping and my mom told me,” Pierson said. “I was like, ‘Really?’ I was surprised and it made my night.”

So far after just two weeks, Pierson has been one of the Wildcats’ top performers, leading the team in digs and serve receptions. She also played a key role in her team’s come-from-behind victory over Bowling Green on Sept. 9 at Ballew and Snell Court, MCHS’ first win of the season after starting off 0-6.

“She has stepped in to be my libero and she has one of our highest serving percentages, has the highest aces and is the most consistent,” first-year MCHS coach Carli Bleyle said. “She can put the ball wherever (assistant) coach (Karli) Holligan tells her to put it. So we try to make sure she’s in the top of our lineup serving wise because she’s got this incredible jump float serve that is very hard to receive. So she’s out there with positive energy and covering everyone in.”

Pierson is playing libero for the first time this year. Last year, she was the defensive specialist.

“I really love it,” Pierson said. “I feel like I can see the court more and it opened my eyes to help other teammates and younger teammates and say, ‘Hey, this spot is open and you can go there.’ It’s a lot easier on my mind.”

Pierson started playing libero – which is a position that allows a player to wear a different colored jersey and is free to substitute in and out of the game without restrictions – at the Licking camp. Bleyle said Pierson impressed her at the libero position at the Licking camp.

“She was diving and making these plays that some other teams and some of my other girls are not capable of making, so she was a defensive force out there,” Bleyle said. “It was great to have her in the back row the entire time, so I had to choose who I wanted to nominate for my team for that. She was hands down my choice for that.”

Pierson helped her team beat New Haven in two games to win its bracket. She said she enjoyed playing libero for the first time at Rolla.

“I think I did pretty decently,” the junior said. “Obviously, I made some mistakes, but that’s going to happen. I think what made me push myself was that it’s a brand new spot. I never played libero before. I actually played every single position there is to play. I played middle in club, I did setting in my freshman year, I played outside and I was a defensive specialist.”

Pierson came into this season as one of just three returning players from last year’s team. She’s part of a squad that has eight new varsity players.

“It’s fun,” Pierson said. “It’s cool to get to share all of the varsity experience with the girls who are new to varsity this year and get to give them our little secret varsity game day kind of stuff, all of our varsity traditions.”

Pierson has 123 digs in nine matches this season, including a career-high 37 against Bowling Green. Last year, she had 187 digs.

Pierson helped the Wildcats beat Bowling Green 25-23, 25-21, 17-25, 18-25, 18-16. In the fifth game, she served the final two points.

“It felt amazing,” Pierson said. “It was a great win. I was proud of my team.”

Now, Pierson is looking to help the Wildcats get back to their winning ways. Last year, MCHS won just four matches, which was the first time since 2017 the program reached single digits in victories.

“We’re definitely planning on getting more wins as long as we work on finishing our plays and keeping our energy up,” Pierson said.