Newsday Athlete of the Week is Elmont's Megan Ortiz

An athlete like Megan Ortiz doesn’t come around often.

“Megan’s one of the best hitters in Elmont High School’s history,” girls volleyball coach Teresa Ianniello said. “She’s a fearsome athlete and a clutch performer.”

The senior outside hitter has racked up more than 630 kills during her four-year varsity tenure  — 189 of those coming this season.

“We have a great team,” Ortiz said. “From the defense to the setter, they give me a lot of opportunities to hit, and I like to take advantage of that.”

The Elmont girls volleyball team is coming off a conference championship and this season, the team is 12-2.

”We’re a senior-strong team and we’re really peaking this season,” Ianniello said.  

Ortiz says that the chemistry that she and her teammates have built has been the key to their success. “It’s been a lot of us playing together for a while and all of us have matured as players,” Ortiz said. “We’ve just developed as a team and we’ve meshed really well together these last two seasons.”

This week, they defeated Bellmore JFK and Port Washington in three sets each. Within those two games, Ortiz had 25 kills.

“She’s the go-to kid,” Ianniello said. “I have so many tools this year, but Megan knows how to take over a game. A team could set up their best blockers and she will figure out a way to get around them.”

Ortiz credits her hitting ability to her four years of training with Ianniello. “My coach has helped me a lot with learning how to hit the ball into different zones,” she said. “She’s pushed me to really see the court and develop as a player so I can hit around the blocks.”

Ortiz is a three-season athlete.  She’s played softball since her freshman year, and as a junior, she joined the bowling team.

“It’s really fun to experience different teams and different atmospheres,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz is the true definition of a student-athlete. Between those three sports and club volleyball, she makes her academics a priority.

“It can definitely be hard to manage, but I always like to prioritize my school work,” she said. I like to make sure my average is as high as it can be and that I’m putting in the work so then when it’s time to be on the court I can just focus on that.”

Last year, Ortiz was awarded the Rochester Institute of Technology's Women in STEM scholarship. “It was a really great achievement that I’m very proud of and I think it was just a reflection of all my hard work,” she said.

Ortiz may be fifth in kills in Nassau, but all she’s focused on is breaking team milestones.

“I just have such a great team and my main goal this year is going to the county championships with (my teammates) rather than focusing on any individual statistics.”