By Chris Parker

Fall 2019 Preview: Willard Volleyball

Few, if any, area volleyball teams will have higher expectations this year than the Willard Lady Tigers. Willard snapped Ozark’s streak of dominance last year to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2004. The Lady Tigers finished fourth overall.

Willard loses just one player from that team in all-state selection Daisie Cruse. The success and returning talent has raised the expectation for the Lady Tigers.

“Last year we didn’t have this expectation. I knew we had the team, but very few people realized it last year,” Willard coach Jamalee Hancock said. “Now we have more of that expectation sitting on our shoulders.”

Senior Ashton Wildermuth will orchestrate the offense for Willard again this year. The setter earned all-state honors last year after accounting for 905 assists.

“As a setter your big thing is location, location, location. Wherever the pass takes her (Wildermuth) she can put a hittable ball up,” Hancock said. “She is very steady in her personality. She isn’t high or low; she is very even-keeled. She just runs a super consistent offense at a very high level for a high school setter. Everybody trusts her.”

Fellow senior Emily Terry also returns as right side hitter who will play six rotations. She had 191 kills last season while leading the team with 46 aces.

“She (Terry) will be the only player in her fourth year starting varsity, so she is the veteran when it comes to experience,” Hancock said. “She is not just an offensive threat on the front row, but she scores for us on the back row as well. She is a primary passer, and she is probably one of the most powerful hitters I have coached.”

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Hancock will be able to turn to one of the state’s most talented pair of juniors in Maddy Bushnell and Payton Van Veen in the offensive attack. Bushnell (middle) led the team with 275 kills on a .403 hitting percentage last year. Van Veen (right side) had 210 kills. She was just recently fully released after having surgery on her ACL over the winter. Both are verbally committed to Missouri State.

“The cool thing about both of them (Bushnell and Van Veen) is that they are humble and hard-working volleyball players. They love the game. Both of them are six-feet tall. They are playing so high above the net which makes them so valuable,” Hancock said. “They are a coach’s dream because of how coachable they both are and how hard they both work. They are great teammates. They have earned the respect of everyone in the gym and the program.”

Senior Ashley Lasher is the final returning player that earned all-conference honors. The SBU commit offers versatility after she posted 189 kills, 140 serve-receives, 179 digs and 16 blocks last year.

“Ashley is probably the most versatile player on our team,” Hancock said. “She is such a coachable kid. She will play wherever we need her. She will definitely be a key player for us.”

Junior Taylor Crighton and sophomore Kindall Smithson round out the returning players who saw significant varsity time last year. They will both be key to the serve-receive and defensive game for Willard.

“Taylor is one of the most mentally tough kids. She is fiercely competitive and wants to win at all costs,” Hancock said. “Kindall Smithson is so consistent. (She is) a great server, great serve-receive and a great defensive kid.”

Willard knows that they will have a target on their back in every gym they walk into this year. The Central Ozark Conference will continue to serve as great preparation for a grueling Class 4 postseason schedule.

“They don’t see it as we can cruise back to the Final Four. It is cutthroat. It was cutthroat getting through to the Final Four last year,” Hancock said. “You just focus. We have small goals throughout the season that we set. The Final Four is always on their mind and we talk about it a lot, but we have a lot of stuff every day that we have to fine tune. Not every year do you feel like you have a team that can go to state, so that is an exciting thing that we know we can. We also respect our opponents. It is going to take some serious focus and hard work because everybody is wanting to knock everybody off every season.”

Willard will open the regular season on Sept. 3 at home against MV-BT Liberty.