This article originally appeared in the January 2025 edition of The Commuter.
When outside hitter Brooklyn Willard graduated from South Albany High School in 2023, multiple schools offered her the chance to continue her volleyball career into college.
The prospects of each offer were exciting. However, only one school gave her a unique opportunity to unite the local volleyball programs of Albany. Willard knew that the Linn-Benton volleyball team had brought in several former West Albany players she had faced in high school. She also had heard from her former South Albany teammates, Taya Manibusan and Zaley Bennett, about the volleyball program at Linn-Benton.
After seeing their success and talking with head coach Jayme Frazier, Willard knew that the Roadrunners had the right program for her.
Now, after two years at Linn-Benton, Willard can proudly claim to have left a legacy at the program, recording an overall record of 70-1 and helping win the school’s third NWAC Volleyball Championship in 2023. During the 2024 season, Willard’s incredible play earned her the title of NWAC South Region MVP. The accolades didn’t stop there, as Willard earned a place on the NWAC Championship Tournament First Team and the AVCA All-American First Team.
Supported by her parents, Katie and Jason, and her little brother, Dixon, Willard’s success is the culmination of many years of hard work and dedication. With her time at Linn-Benton coming to a close, Willard looks forward to taking the next step in her journey, venturing to Eastern Oregon University to pursue both volleyball and a degree.
Where did your passion for volleyball come from?
I started with clinics at the YMCA in third grade and honestly I just fell in love with it. I actually didn’t want to go to the clinic. I did dance when I was younger and my mom told me I should try volleyball. After the first week, I just knew volleyball was something I wanted to do, and so I just continued from there and never did anything else.
What coaches have you learned from during your volleyball career and what have they taught you?
The first one would be Harold Yada, he’s the one that really got me into club volleyball and helped me learn my dedication for the sport and how much I appreciated it. For club volleyball, I moved on to G3 in Corvallis with Jeff Megy. At South Albany, I had Kelly Angel and Kaela Wehrman – they taught me how to play as a team. Kelly and Kaela both really helped with my leadership skills and helped me take on a bigger role on the team.
Coming out of high school, did you know where you wanted to play collegiate volleyball?
I had a couple “maybe” offers but nothing that I was very serious about. I had always heard really great things about Jayme [Frazier] as a coach from other players and parents. Once I talked to her and built that connection, Linn-Benton was pretty much the only option for me. This is where I really wanted to go.
Was your talk with Coach Frazier ultimately the deciding factor in your decision to join Linn-Benton?
I think that it was a huge part of it. I also knew a couple other players, Taya Manibusan and Zaley Bennett. They also went to South Albany, so seeing them move on to Linn-Benton and be so successful and have such an amazing experience here, I wanted that for myself as well. I also wanted the opportunity to play with a few more players that I had played with during club volleyball or played against at West Albany. There were a lot of West Albany girls on our team like Avery Hughes, Grace Boeder, and Brooke Rogers. They all went to West Albany, so it was cool to kind of combine the South and West Albany programs and make one team out of it.
Is there a specific reason why you chose to wear No. 6?
I was No. 16 in high school and I wanted to change for college, but I still liked the number. My little brother, Dixon, has actually adopted No. 16, so that really means a lot to me and I still wanted to be a part of that.
During your time at Linn-Benton, how have coaches Jayme Frazier, Ally Schmidt, and Miah Smith impacted you and what have you learned from them?
To start with Ally, she taught me how to be a more resilient player. I feel like when I came in, I made a lot of excuses for myself. I’m an over-analyzer, so everything I did there was a reason for. I felt like I kind of excused some of my mistakes and she helped me realize that there’s always something else that I can do.
I think Miah has helped me a lot with analyzing the other team, like who to serve to and tendencies of opposition hitters. Jayme obviously has helped me a ton with my volleyball skills, but most importantly, she’s made me a better person and helped me mature a lot in these last two years.
I think overall these coaches are what made this experience for me. Obviously it was awesome how successful our team was, but it’s still not fun to be a winning team if you’re not enjoying it. These coaches really helped me make the best experience I could while I was here, and not just on the court.
Do you have a pregame routine before your matches?
I do a lot of analyzing and strategic thinking, like, “What does this team do?” and “What’s gonna work against them?” I just visualize myself doing those certain things that will work; I’m very much a visual person. I like to visualize a little highlight reel of myself doing everything right and I think that helps me build confidence for the game and to help with any nerves. Even during [warm-up], I’ll sit there and think about how I’m gonna pass, how I’m gonna make sure to move my feet, what my toss will look like for my serve, and just replaying in my head how I’m gonna do it.
When you’re going for a kill, what’s going through your mind and what are you looking for from the opponent’s defense?
I often think about where my setters are in position so I know where that ball is going to be coming from and where it’s gonna end up. The block is the first thing I look for after that. I often rely on the back row, like Kinsey Brelage and Maddy Hellem telling me spots that they’re seeing on the court. It’s not just me, but it’s a lot of relying on my team to tell me what they see and then just putting all the pieces together.
Reflecting on your time as a Roadrunner, what was your favorite part about being a member of this program?
Just the whole experience, I think. This group of girls, the coaching staff that couldn’t have been any better, having Jake [Forshey] for strength training, and having Russell [Yap] there supporting us before and after practice. As a whole, I felt very supported and appreciated while I was here.
I love that nobody ever let me settle – they continued to push me. Jayme tells us “iron sharpens iron.” We always want to make sure that we’re playing our best in practice so that we can push each other. Just having all of these girls to learn from and to push me and support me along the way has been amazing. We couldn’t have been as successful as we were with any other group of girls.
During your time at Linn-Benton, the volleyball team went 70-1 and set multiple school and conference records. What does it mean to be a part of a team that left such a legacy?
It’s amazing to think about. I think it really shows how much time and dedication each and every player put into this program. The freshmen this year bought into our philosophy. Every person brought their best to this team and everything we’ve accomplished has come from that. I’m a firm believer that if you do the hard things to start with, like conditioning during preseason or weight lifting, and if everybody buys into those things, the success that comes on the court is a lot easier to achieve.
During your first year at Linn-Benton, you played a key role in helping this team go 36-0 en route to the school’s third NWAC volleyball title. What was that experience like for you?
During that season, I think that a lot of us freshmen were stepping into some big roles with a lot of sophomores leaving the year before. We had a lot of freshmen starting and I thanked the coaches and sophomores for not underestimating us. They expected sophomore responsibilities from us and really showed us how to work hard and what this program is about. That really helped me, especially knowing that the sophomores believed in me and that I could take on that role. I feel like it helped me mature and helped lead the team this last season as well.
This past season you were named NWAC South Region MVP, an AVCA First Team All American, and a member of the First Team for the NWAC Championship Tournament. What did earning these accolades mean to you?
It feels amazing to accomplish those achievements, but it really comes down to the team and the program as a whole. We can’t be successful if we don’t have everyone there. We don’t make it to the postseason with just one person. So it’s an incredible honor to receive these accolades, but I’m really just grateful that my team helped me get there and that they pushed me. If I didn’t have Maddy Hellem, Mia Monaghan, and Molly Schotthoefer to learn from, I couldn’t have accomplished those feats.
During your time at Linn-Benton, what skill or area of your game have you improved the most?
This is not necessarily just in volleyball, but I think one skill I’ve learned the most about over the last two years is having the ability to take a step back and enjoy the moment that we’re in. Realizing how incredible this experience is and thinking of it as some of the best years of my life. Not focusing on how stressful school might be or all the teams that we have to beat to get to where we want to. We think about one point, one set, one match at a time. That’s really helped me in my life, just looking at the experience as a whole and appreciating the little things.
Do you have any educational or athletic plans once you graduate from Linn-Benton?
I’m committed to Eastern Oregon University to play volleyball for the next two years and to earn my Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science. After that, I’m hoping to come back to Linn-Benton to join the nursing program here. My end goal is nursing; that’s what I want to do. I chose exercise science at Eastern Oregon to get a sports perspective because I’m hoping to go into a specific field involving that.
For anyone at Eastern Oregon that hasn’t watched you play yet, what would you say to them about what you bring to the team?
I bring dedication and consistency. In volleyball, you see some super emotional players that get too excited, but I don’t feel like I’m one of those players. I will definitely cheer on my team and I do get excited, but I’m more consistent emotionally and compassionate. I care a lot about my teammates, my coaches, and the whole community, especially here at Linn-Benton. They’ve given so much to me and I’m really grateful for that so I really like to give back to those people.
With all that the volleyball team has accomplished during your time here, how does it feel knowing that you and your team are likely bound for the Linn-Benton Athletics Hall of Fame someday?
We talk about Jayme as a coach, how incredible she is and the legacy she’s going to leave behind and how incredible it is to be a part of that legacy as well. I can’t believe I got to play under the one and only Jayme Frazier. I think that it just proves to myself that if you put the time and the work in, you can be successful in whatever you want to do. Honestly, I can’t wait to see my teammates in 10 years or whenever we get inducted into the Hall of Fame. Coming back to reunite is going to be incredible.
