Wichita State volleyball recruit helps lead Andover Central team to success this season

When making a list of potential destinations to continue her volleyball career in college, Andover Central senior Allie Paulsen kept coming back to one school.

It wasn’t a hard decision when Paulsen, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker, recently announced she verbally committed to join Wichita State and coach Chris Lamb at the next level.

“Lambo has coached me some in my club volleyball career and I just absolutely love him as a coach,” Paulsen said. “I think his morals and the way he coaches are so incredible and when I was making my decision where to play college volleyball, I knew Wichita State was the place I had to go because I couldn’t imagine trying to find another coach who makes me a better player like he does.”

Paulsen is already a standout player at the high school level and a reason why the Jaguars are among the best teams in Class 5A West this season. The team entered last week with a 27-7 record and will travel for the final triangular of the season on Tuesday to Arkansas City, where Andover Central will also play Derby.

Paulsen has been a dominant blocking force for the Jaguars, leading the team in blocks with 65 (nearly one per set) and ranks second on the team in kills with 222 (2.9 per set) this season.

“Allie knows what works for her and she’s so good at positioning her body and getting in the right position to score,” Andover Central coach Kayla Weidert said. “She knows how to pull the block or run a tempo ball with our setter to get herself open. She’s not afraid to tell our setter if she’s running as hard as she can for a quick, then set the outside and get the 1-on-1 matchup for the pin hitters.”

Paulsen’s presence in the middle makes it even more difficult for defenses to slow down fellow senior Maddi Amekporfor, who is feasting on those 1-on-1 matchups on the outside this season with a team-high 238 kills (3.1 per set) and a solid .247 hitting percentage.

Junior setter Hayden Snodgrass has plenty of options beyond those two, as juniors Gretta Stover and Emma Geier and sophomore Jordyn Washingto have become weapons in the offense. And junior Willow Deckinger has become a star on the back line with a superb season at libero.

“We have an incredibly talented group of girls and a lot of these girls are club volleyball girls,” Weidert said. “Andover Central has had a lot of athletes in the past, but now I feel like the difference is we have girls who are committed to volleyball and play club year-round and understand the game with volleyball brains. That’s been a big aspect of our success and why this group is so cohesive out on the floor.”

Weidert said Paulsen has one of the sharpest volleyball minds for a high school player she has seen. Paulsen said she grew up watching Nebraska volleyball religiously and loves thinking about and watching the game.

“I’ve really tried to step up and become a leader since I’m a senior this year,” Paulsen said. “Volleyball has always had such a big influence on me and I feel like that passion has made me love the sport so much and that’s what has made me successful. I just try to share my energy and my passion for the game with my teammates and hopefully that makes them better.”

Weidert, a former Shocker volleyball player, says that’s exactly the kind of person and player that will thrive under Lamb at Wichita State.

“We’ve had some fun conversations about playing for Lambo,” Weidert said. “I told her about all of the great memories I had playing and traveling in the Missouri Valley Conference. I told her how lucky she is to get to travel around the American Athletic COnference and go all around the country. It’s just going to be a lot of fun for her and I’m excited for her to get to experience that.”