Willman sisters help Flames to NAIA Tourney in 2019
- By Marc Zavala, Grand Island Independent -
Sisters Daryn and Kamryn Willman have experienced a lot while growing up together.
That is especially true when it comes to playing volleyball.
The two sisters just finished playing a season together at College of St. Mary, which included a trip to the NAIA Tournament for the first time since 2006, and finished with a 25-17 record and a No. 23 ranking.
Daryn said it was a special moment playing with Kamryn. She said they didn’t really get that chance too much when the two sisters played high school together at Grand Island Central Catholic. Kamryn did get some playing time as a freshman but not too much when Daryn was a senior during the 2015 season.
“That was so much fun,” Daryn said. “I didn’t think I would ever get that opportunity to play with Kamryn. We didn’t get too much of that opportunity in high school. We were side by side in some rotations.”
Kamryn said there was a time during the season when she and Daryn made a block together. The announcer said, “Block by the Willman sisters.”
Senior right-side hitter Daryn (left) with her sister Kamryn, a freshman middle hitter for the Flames.
She said she enjoyed having her sister on the volleyball court.
“I didn’t realize how special it was playing with Daryn,” Kamryn said. “She helped more with college life than with volleyball as I knew most of the players already. She told me how the program works so I kind of knew what to expect.”
Daryn was one of six seniors for the Flames this past season. She was voted team captain during her final two seasons of play.
During her senior season, Daryn, who was a four-year starter and letterwinner, finished with 76 kills while playing right side.
Daryn said she enjoyed her experience at CSM, even though she had to adjust to coach Rick Pruitt, who came in after her freshman season.
“It was a fun experience. It was hard at the beginning, it was a learning curve,” she said. “I started to really enjoy once coach Pruitt came. He really related to us well. He was really a great guy to play for.
“Being team captain twice was awesome. It helped me grow as a person because I needed to be a leader for the team. I got to help the freshmen out if they needed anything. That was the fun part about it, just seeing your teammates grow each year from the start to the end of the season.”
As for Kamryn, she made an impact for the Flames at middle blocker. She finished with 358 kills with .279 hitting efficiency and 126 total blocks. She had a match-high 24 kills with a .667 hitting efficiency during a five-set win over No. 15 Ottawa University.
While Kamryn said she felt she had a good season, and that she finally felt healthy. She didn’t get to play much of her senior season at GICC because of having Still’s disease, a type of rheumatoid arthritis.
She said she felt very relieved to be healthy throughout the season.
“I didn’t have any symptoms of anything during the season,” Kamryn said. “That was great because I didn’t have to worry about anything, I could just play.
“Coming in, I didn’t know how big of an impact I would make right away. That match against Ottawa was a big confidence booster.”
As for the season, the Flames got out to a 10-0 start.
Kamryn said that start was important, especially since they had won only 15 matches the previous season.
“To get 10 wins that early was big for everyone,” she said. “That was a big confidence booster for all of us. It told us that we have a great chance to reach our goals. ”
But CSM went through a rought stretch, going 12-13 the rest of the regular season and its hopes of getting into the NAIA Tournament did not look good. The Flames knew they had to have a strong run in the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament to have a shot. The Flames entered the GPAC tournament as the No. 8 seed after finishing the conference season at 7-9.
CSM had to play No. 1 seed and NAIA top-ranked Northwestern University, who entered the match 28-0, in the first round of the tournament at Orange City, Iowa. But all that didn’t bother the Flames, as they upset the Red Raiders in four sets.
Daryn said the Flames had nothing to lose in that match.
“We weren’t even suppose to win that match,” she said. “I started tearing up after we won that match. But I felt we gained a lot of confidence after that win.”
CSM went on to sweep No. 21 Midland University before falling to Jamestown University in four sets. That performance was just enough to help the Flames earn a spot into the NAIA Tournament. They found out they were in the tournament play-in game the following Monday.
Daryn said it was a relief to her and to the seniors.
“After the game with Jamestown, I kind of got a little emotional just because I didn’t know for sure if we were going to make the tournament or not and thought this might be my last match,” Daryn said. “Our team and a lot of classmates were watching the selection show the following Monday and we all just cheered after we saw we made the tournament.”
The Flames swept Lincoln Christian University in the play-in match to advance to pool play of the NAIA Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa.
Unforunately, CSM lost all three of its pool play matches.
Despite that, Daryn said playing in the tournament was a great way for her and her senior teammates to end their careers.
“It was awesome to play all the way to December, even though we didn’t really play our best in the tournament,” she said. “But it was a still a great experience for us, especially for us seniors since it was our final time playing volleyball.”
Now, the two sisters have some convincing to do with younger sister Lauryn, who just wrapped up her senior season of volleyball for GICC. Lauryn was part of the Crusaders’ state championship team this past season.
Lauryn has gotten an offer to play volleyball for the Flames, but she also got an offer to run track at Midland University. She is a two-time state qualifier in the 1,600 for the Crusaders.
Both of Lauryn’s older sisters would love to see her go to CSM.
“We’re hoping she can follow the lead,” Daryn, who is a nursing major, said.
“We want all three of us to go there, and I think coach does too,” Kamryn said. “That would be so cool.”
