Fresh off a season where she was 2nd team All-League, as well as All-Academic First Team, Andover Central libero Willow Deckinger has set lofty goals for herself coming into her senior season.

“I want to never let the ball hit the floor under my control. Yes, it’s such a vague goal, but as a libero, I live for those kinds of plays that hit off the block weirdly that I have to dive for or a shanked ball that I have to run down.” Deckinger said. Asked how she plans to improve, she mentioned an underrated skill. 

“I want to improve my ability to read the game. I want to be better at anticipating opponents’ plays and be in the right place at the right time. I’ve been working on this by watching film and seeing other players’ tendencies and I’ve also been working on my reflexes and reaction time with tennis ball workouts and other agility-related drills.”

The Emporia State commit had quite the season last year, leading the league with 66 service aces, in addition to accumulating 314 digs. In addition to playing volleyball for the Hornets, she plans to major in Education with a minor in nursing. Before any of that though, Deckinger and her teammates have set goals for this season that are part of a larger culture.

Deckinger explains- “Our team actually has a wall of goals that our coach puts together, and throughout the season, you get to sign that specific goal on the wall if you achieve it. The goals could be as simple as “Win a game” or they could be as specific as “Pass a 2.5 or higher in a match.” Coach Weidert will probably be doing those goals again, and I appreciate them because it keeps us all accountable and it’s pleasing to look at the wall throughout the season and see how far we’ve progressed.”