Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Anna Richardson
The 2024 volleyball season starts for the Worland Lady Warriors in Lander this weekend.
With 33 players out for the team this year, the Lady Warriors have had competitive practices under first-year coach Joanna Peterson.
"We have a lot of girls this year and that's a good thing," said Peterson. "We've done a lot of conditioning and seeing where girls are. We'll be a younger team, and most are freshmen. If we can build them up for four years, that will be good."
The Lady Warriors are led by seniors Anna Richardson, a 3A all-state player in '23, Addi Estes and juniors Kalistynn Crippen and Maddie Robertson.
"Anna Richardson was all-state, Addi Estes, Elly Julson and Maddie Robertson are some of the main players coming back. Maddie played libero for us last year but this year she's taking the setting position for us. She's done a great job and worked hard knowing her hitters and where they like to hit. I'm putting in all new defenses and plays, and the girls are willing to learn and work hard for their positions," said Peterson. "Kalistynn [Crippen] has done a really good job in the libero position. She's quick and reads the ball within our defense."
Having been an assistant the past two seasons for the Lady Warriors, Peterson takes over as the head of the program. Using that familiarity with the players and program, she's been able to implement her changes seamlessly.
"Some of these girls I've had since they were freshmen. I've seen what they can do and their potential. I know how they learn, and we brought in notebooks for them to take home and study. We're trying to hit every angle with how the girls learn so that they can see it and can take it home and visualize it," said Peterson.
The Lady Warriors leadership has also done an excellent job of bringing the team together and moving together as a team.
"They've done a really good job. We've picked leaders from every grade level. We've talked to them about how they want this year to go. We've put them into certain situations and what they would do. We've seen them grow and it's brought more unity as a team. We're not having anyone warm up on the wall by themselves.
"It doesn't matter if they're a freshman, we can have a freshman and a senior warming up together. They've done a really good job reaching out to one another and bringing that unity to the team," said Peterson.
Having made it to the 3A State tournament the past two seasons, the Lady Warriors want to make it three in a row. Other in-season goals include building on their team unity and increasing their on-court communication.
"One big thing is making it to state. Another is a successful season, working together in unity, being one team, talking more. We have a really quiet team. Our team is quiet and shy, but breaking that barrier and getting them to talk would be a good goal for us. That way, we can get louder and trust one another," said Peterson.
The Lady Warriors head to Lander for the Lander Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
As Worland looks to learn their strengths and who fits best where, many of the Lady Warriors will see the court this weekend.
"This weekend, I plan on using different rotations. I want to try a 5-1 and a 6-2. I'm looking at a couple of my middles to fill in positions we lost. But I'm going to have a lot of rotations I'm going to go through so we can see who fits where the best," said Peterson.
