Your future, our focus
A trio of Wyoming high school volleyball players are set to join the Northwest College volleyball program this upcoming season — joining the Trappers from the highest and lowest levels of competition in the Cowboy state.
Coming from the highest classification in the state in 4A will be a pair of players — Brooke Larsen from Sheridan and Jordynel Anderson of Riverton.
Larsen comes to Powell having already seen her older sister play at Casper College the past two years as well as her mom who played as a Thunderbird.
“They were kind of a Casper family so it is nice to pull her to this side of the mountain,” coach Scott Keister said. “She is an athlete like you wouldn’t believe.”
He said that they are working on improving certain things with Larsen’s swing, but he feels if they can get her on track then she will be a key contributor to the squad as an outside hitter after earning All-State recognition this past season.
“We are trying to improve her arm swing, I think if we can then she is going to be a monster,” Keister said. “She jumps high, passes well, plays defense well and serves well so that is exciting.”
Anderson comes to Northwest via Riverton, and will likely come in as a middle blocker for the Trappers despite coming in slightly undersized. Keister said she will out jump a lot of players.
“I actually found her when she was a sophomore,” Keister said. “She’s small as a middle but she jumps out of the gym, which I absolutely love. The key to being a middle is being fast and explosive which she is.”
Keister said Anderson was unable to play her senior year of high school due to tearing her ACL but has been cleared for several months and has shown signs of explosiveness despite the major injury.
“She sent me a video the day she was released of her hitting and she has not missed a beat,” Keister said. “She might be better and she hasn’t played for a year. She’s wanted to come here [since] the first day she came to a camp here.”
The final recruit for the Trappers comes at the lowest level of competition in the state, with Keister bringing in Sierra Kilts as a setter from 1A Kaycee.
“She comes from a ranching family so she knows the value of hard work and knows how to do it,” Keister said. “She knows that life sucks sometimes but you gotta push through it and do hard things, which is a new mentality we need with this team.”
Kilts was named to the 1A All-State team for three consecutive years, and finished the past season with 287 kills, 313 digs along with 66 aces.
She was part of a Kaycee team that won the state title her junior year after finishing 30-5-1.
Keister said it was down to Kilts and one other setter, but on her recruiting visit Kilts blew him away with her maturity and her leadership that he felt was the perfect fit for this upcoming team.
The volleyball season is fast approaching, with the first practices set to take place in just three weeks in August.