Andover Central libero overcomes broken back injury, helps lead volleyball team to state
The walls of Willow Deckinger’s bedroom are covered in cut-out paper notes, meticulously color-coded and carefully hand-written with motivational quotes that have resonated with the Andover Central volleyball player through the years.
As her final weekend of high school volleyball approaches with the Jaguars in the midst of a dream season, 38-1 and the No. 1 seed at the Class 5A state tournament in Salina, Deckinger finds herself staring more and more at the section in green.
The quotes in green deal with being rewarded for persevering through adversity. They were written during her freshman year when doctors informed her she had fractures in her L4 and L5 vertebrae, an injury that ultimately prevented her from playing sports her first two years in high school and forced her to rehabilitate by wearing a back brace every day.
“I read those and that’s what keeps me going,” Deckinger said. “I love looking back and seeing how far I’ve come.”
Deckinger tolerated the pain of a broken back, but struggled with the pain of sitting on the sidelines and watching her classmates go on without her.
That feeling still fuels motivation in Deckinger, who has not only returned to the court, but firmly established herself as a premier libero in the state. The 5-foot-3 senior’s handiwork in the back row (336 total digs and 4.0 digs per set) isn’t as flashy as a cut shot or a roofing at the net, but it has been just as important to elevate Andover Central to among the best teams in the state this season.
“I’ve never really been tall or got a chance to hit, so I guess I just started taking satisfaction in taking away highlight-reel kills for other hitters,” Deckinger said. “So I just started going for everything.”
Deckinger’s playing style, which can only be described as fearless, never changed following her injury. If anything, she became even more aggressive in her pursuit to keep the volleyball up.
In the volleyball world, she is affectionately known as “the flying squirrel.”
“Willow is the type of libero who will fly into a wall head-first to make a play for her team,” Andover Central coach Kayla Weidert said. “I’m constantly having to make sure I put away ball carts in practice because she plays with reckless abandon. A lot of people hold their breaths when they watch her play because she’s always flying into something and then I have to tell them, ‘Oh, don’t worry, she’s fine. That’s just how she plays.’”
Deckinger is one-fifth of a senior class on Andover Central, which includes Hayden Snodgrass, Gretta Stover, Paighton Crumley and Emma Geier, that has been together since the seventh grade, chemistry that has translated to a breakthrough season in their final year together.
Snodgrass shares setting duties with Bella Holcomb, while also leading the team in kills. The attack also includes dangerous hitters with Stover on the outside and junior Jordyn Washington in the middle, as well as Georgia Ward and Sydney Mayginnes. Deckinger spearheads a strong back row fortified by Crumley and junior Sydney Gerber.
No player has gaudy statistics. The Jaguars have found their success by multiple players fulfilling their roles.
“Our team slogan this year has been ‘out-team,’” Weidert said. “The idea is we may not out-power you or out-jump you, but we’re going to trust each other, lift each other up and do all of those things you read about in team-culture books. The stars have aligned to get us to 38-1 and every day with this team has been a joy ride.”
Andover Central begins pool play at Tony’s Pizza Events Center on Friday, as the Jaguars will face Andover, Spring Hill and Topeka Seaman with the top-two placers advancing to Saturday’s semifinals.
There’s no new notes on Deckinger’s walls for this week. She already has all of the motivation she needs.
“I wouldn’t trade this season with these girls for anything,” Deckinger said. “This year has meant the world to me. We know we have a tough time ahead, but whatever happens, we’re going to play without regrets and with some of our best friends on the court.”
This story was originally published October 25, 2023 at 10:59 AM.
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