From court to cadet: Wichita star balances volleyball and West Point dreams
On Saturday morning, Bishop Carroll senior Allyson Orth will sit in front of her laptop in dress clothes, fielding questions from Kansas senators’ screening boards that could change the trajectory of her life.
A few minutes later, she’ll swap a blazer for a volleyball jersey and help lead an undefeated Carroll team in one of the season’s biggest tournaments at Topeka Seaman.
It’s a collision of two worlds few high school athletes ever navigate. For Orth, who is verbally committed to play Division I volleyball for Army West Point, it feels natural. She has always craved control of the moment.
“Growing up, I guess I just always wanted to touch the ball in whatever sport I was playing,” Orth said. “As a setter, I’m touching the ball every single play and multiple times on a lot of plays, so I like that control and being able to make an impact on every single play. I just want to help my team win.”
It’s what has made Orth one of the best setters in Kansas and the engine behind Carroll’s perfect 15-0 start. She averages 7.1 assists per set and has turned herself into a scoring threat too with 39 kills, a .427 hitting percentage and a team-high 27 aces. With Orth orchestrating the offense, hitters like Lauren DeGroot, Sophia Smith, Ella Avery, Breckyn Cawood, Josie Klausmeyer and Natalie Sill have flourished, while libero Brea Martin’s pinpoint passing helps Orth keep Carroll humming in system.
But Orth is more than an athlete (she’s also an All-Metro softball player who helped Carroll win a state championship in 2024). She’s a superb student with plans of majoring in chemical engineering — a path few Division I-bound athletes even consider.
When Army first started recruiting her, Orth brushed it off.
“No way I’m doing that,” Orth thought. “That’s crazy.”
Other schools only reinforced her skepticism, telling her the workload of Division I volleyball couldn’t be paired with such a challenging major. But Army coaches told her the opposite: Not only was it possible, they laid out a roadmap of academic support. For Orth, it flipped a switch.
“The more I learned about Army and all of the opportunities that you get and the chance to serve in the military and all of the leadership,” Orth said, “it’s such a great opportunity that you can’t pass it up.”
She has always been drawn to math and science, influenced by engineers in her extended family. The major felt like the right fit — and a sign from above.
For her Catholic confirmation in sixth grade, Orth had chosen Saint Barbara, the patron saint of mathematicians. Later, she discovered Saint Barbara is also considered the patron saint of chemical engineers.
“This has got to be a sign from God,” Orth said. “It just proved to me that I was making the right decision and I should follow through with this.”
Her coach, Teri Larson, says none of it is surprising.
Orth has always shown an ability to lead and handle pressure in the biggest moments, helping Carroll pull through against tough Class 6A competition like Gardner-Edgerton, Lawrence Free State and Olathe North and also against stiff local competition from Kapaun Mt. Carmel, Wichita Northwest and Andale.
“Ally is a leader on the court and she thrives under pressure,” Larson said. “We’ve had some tough games this season and she has stayed very calm under pressure and figures out a way for us to score. The girls have so much confidence that the ball is going to be where they can hit it. That’s huge in high school. And we’re not a very big team, so we have to win with our defense and our brain power. So you want your quarterback (Orth) to embody that, and she does all of those things for everybody.”
Orth doesn’t think of herself as a classic vocal leader. She leads instead by going all out, every point, every play — setting a standard she hopes her teammates mirror. It’s a brand of leadership that caught Army’s eye while recruiting her.
“I’m not the most vocal leader of all time, but I’m going to work my tail off and lead by example,” Orth said. “If I’m going all out, other people around me will see that and think, ‘I should do the same.’”
That mindset hasn’t just powered Carroll’s perfect start, it’s also prepared Orth for West Point. She’s already added tougher workouts, more pushups, more grit. Her teammates and coaches have noticed — playfully teasing her about Army boot camp when she wins a joust at the net or blocks a hitter straight down.
Her path is not the typical one for a star volleyball player. But that’s exactly the point.
“I definitely want to prove to people that think you can’t go DI if you go into a certain major,” Orth said. “I want to show that yes, you can do this.”
This story was originally published September 23, 2025 at 5:02 AM.
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