THE FRONT ROW with BRUCE BOURQUIN, March 28, 2014

Expectations. For any high school student-athlete, they can weigh on you at times. You either rise up to the challenge, or succumb to the pressure.

BRENNA MEEHAN, a senior at Post Falls High School, has not only risen up to the challenges of being a three-year right side hitter and setter on the varsity volleyball team and a sprinter and jumper on the track and field team, the 17-year-old and youngest of three sisters has exceeded them. Literally, by leaps and bounds.

All three sisters were born and raised in Post Falls. Brenna wants to become a speech pathologist, in part because Danielle, the oldest, is looking into that field as well. She is looking at schools like North Idaho College and the College of Idaho in Caldwell, among others.

"My sisters were really good at volleyball," Brenna said. "There were a lot of expectations of me, but that helped me. I always wanted to be better than my sisters. There's nothing better than getting a good kill."

Brenna, who made the all-5A Inland Empire League team last year, eventually wants to attend the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

"My dad (Jim, a sports writer for the Spokesman-Review) met their volleyball head coach, Tino Reyes, on a plane when he was covering something," Brenna said. "It's always been my dream to go there. I've looked online at pictures of their campus. It's so beautiful."

As a sophomore backup who played fairly often during the second half of that season, Meehan was a setter and outside hitter on a Trojans team which finished second at the state 5A volleyball tournament in 2011, losing in four games to Idaho Falls in the finals. Allison Meehan, her 20-year-old older sister, was a senior on the team.

"At the time, it was awful," Brenna Meehan said of losing. "It was the worst pain I've ever felt. But looking back, it was a really good accomplishment. We put so much work into it and everyone was telling us, 'You're going to win a state championship.' We believed it and losing was hard. I was (emotionally) sore about that for a week afterwards, I would just see the (state runner-up) trophy and cry. But then it kind of kicked in that what we did was amazing and we made school history. No one ever placed that high. So it was really cool, actually."

Danielle, a 21-year-old who is going to graduate school to study occupational therapy at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, was a senior on the 2009 Post Falls team that qualified for state for the first time since 1991.

THE TROJANS also qualified for state in volleyball in 2012, finishing fifth.

Not only did Brenna balance playing volleyball matches and competing in track and field, she balanced a full load of challenging classes. How does Advanced Placement U.S. history - for Brenna, her most challenging class - honors pre-calculus and honors chemistry sound for tough enough?

"There were a lot of harder classes," Brenna said. "The stress was terrible. I'd study about eight hours a week (along with playing sports)."

Meehan, who attends Calvary Lutheran Church in Post Falls, also helped build a walking trail while on a mission trip for Trinity Lutheran Church in Coeur d'Alene. She worked near PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center in Friday Harbor, Wash., on the San Juan Islands, located roughly three hours northwest of Seattle.

Allison, a setter at North Idaho College the last two seasons, had graduated from Post Falls by then, so Brenna was the only Meehan on the Trojans' roster during her junior and senior seasons.

Danielle went on to play outside hitter as a freshman at Walla Walla Community College, then she played at NIC as a sophomore.

Their mom, Jodene, a preschool teacher at Calvary Lutheran in Post Falls who played volleyball at Montana from 1981-85, said the pressure of being the youngest and latest Meehan was not that bad - but it was definitely prevalent.

"When she was younger, it made her more confident," Jodene said. "It wasn't until high school when she felt more pressure in trying to succeed. When she was in fifth grade, she played volleyball versus high school girls. She wasn't intimidated."

AS AN eighth grader, Brenna kept statistics for the Post Falls varsity volleyball team when Danielle was a senior.

"She got to do things other girls didn't," Jodene said. "During her freshman year, she got moved up to JV. Post Falls volleyball held a teen camp, they never took eighth graders, but they took her."

Jodene shared another story which showed that even early on, Brenna was a little different than some kids.

"She's always had a lot of energy," Jodene Meehan said. "She loved to run. When she was eight years old, one time her soccer coach tried to punish her by making her run. I told the coach, 'Don't make her run, make her sit.' She's kind of a combination between Dani and Alli. Dani had more passion, while Allison is more athletic but quieter."

POST FALLS volleyball coach Willow Hanna has coached all three sisters and have seen the similarities and differences between them.

"All three of them were cut from the same cloth," Hanna said. "She (Brenna) follows their nature, she has good character. As a player, she has been around the game a long time. I think as a sophomore, you're overwhelmed to be on varsity anyway. She stepped in and she handled the pressure really well. I think having older sisters pushed her, it gave her competitive edge."

And that edge has pushed Brenna to some pretty good heights. On last year's 12-25 team, Meehan had 294 kills, 332 assists and 159 digs. On the Trojans' all-time career list, she is sixth with 444 kills, second with 1,215 assists, sixth with 434 digs and seventh with 100 service aces.

Allison Meehan is fourth on the all-time list with 467 kills, sixth with 123 blocks, fifth with 633 assists and eighth with 99 aces. Danielle Meehan is ninth with 384 kills and seventh with 426 digs.

WADE QUESNELL, the Trojans' track and field coach, also coached all three sisters.

As a junior last season, Brenna was on the Post Falls 4x200-meter relay that placed fifth. She also went to state in the long jump. This year, she's in the long jump and the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relays.

"Number one, she's athletic," Quesnell said. "She seems to be a little less stressed, this year she's really relaxed. Sometimes, your junior year in high school is a tough academic year. She's dedicated every day, she always works to get better. It's not just about herself, it's all about the school."

Quesnell was asked if the girls have any brothers.

"I wish there were," Quesnell said.

Indeed, coach Quesnell, indeed.

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013, or via email at bbourquin@cdapress.com Follow him on Twitter @bourq25