This story is part of an ongoing series featuring Basin athletes who have committed to play in college. In case you missed it, be sure to check out out our other story on Lost River football’s Connor Dunlea and Joel DeJong.
Gillian Merhoff was in eighth grade when her future high school coach John Downey began to view her as a potential college prospect.
It took Merhoff another year to start seeing herself that way.
“My freshman year I really committed to the sport a lot more and I realized that I could take it further,” Merhoff said.
Merhoff spent her first three years of high school at Klamath Union, where she faced off with Downey’s Mazama teams.
“She tortured us a few times,” Downey said.
Merhoff transferred to Mazama for her senior year and helped the Vikings win their third straight Skyline Conference championship and reach their second straight 4A semifinals. After the season ended, she began fielding calls from NWAC and NCAA Division III schools. She visited Linn-Benton Community College, which had just won a second straight NWAC championship, and Bellevue College, which had lost in the NWAC Elite Eight.
Despite LBCC having a more successful program, Merhoff said Bellevue “felt way more like home.” She signed with the Bulldogs later that week.
“I love the area, the academics were good, the campus was beautiful and the team itself was amazing,” Merhoff said. “Everybody was so inviting and nice.”
Even though she got attention from four-year schools, Merhoff said going the JUCO route “made more sense” because of the shorter-term commitment.
“I didn’t want to go to a four-year school and be stuck there for four years,” Merhoff said.
Merhoff joins a Bulldogs program that finished the season 28-6 and won its fourth straight North Region championship. In keeping with the Bellevue players’ welcoming attitude, Merhoff said the coaching staff’s recruitment pitch wasn’t centered around the team’s success.
“They focus a lot more on building a family and the community with the team,” Merhoff said.
Merhoff led Mazama with 233 kills and was second on the team with 77 aces in her senior season. She had a .223 hitting percentage and recorded 230 digs. Merhoff said the Bulldogs coaching staff projects her as a six-rotation outside hitter and sees her becoming a leader on the team. Academically, she intends to study to become a radiology technician.
“I’m really excited,” Merhoff said. “It’s going to be really fun.”
Downey said Merhoff has numerous attributes that should translate to a successful college career.
“She’s tall, she’s got leaping ability, she’s got a powerful arm swing, she’s fast, she can block, she can hit, she can play defense, she can serve, she can set,” Downey said. “If you have somebody who can play every single position efficiently, it’s a find. And she’s a find.”
Bellevue has yet to release their 2024 schedule.