By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
As a fifth-year senior for the Washburn University volleyball team, Taryn Pridgett feels a certain responsibility to help out the seven freshmen in the Ichabod program.
Cair Paravel product Taryn Pridgett is entering her senior season for Washburn after recording 108 kills a year ago. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
After all, it wasn't that long ago that the former Cair Paravel Latin standout was in that same position.
"Honestly, I really just want to provide support for the young ones, especially because it's hard coming into a program,'' said Pridgett, a 5-foot-8 outside hitter. "You're away from home for the first time, there's a lot of changes and coach (Chris Herron) is intense, so it can be a difficult change.
"So I think right now it's just prioritizing the young ones and making sure they're comfortable and making sure they feel confident in practices because they're still learning. They don't necesssarily have all the drills down and are making mistakes, but it's just reminding them that it's all part of the process and everyone has been there at some point, so we're all here for you.''
Pridgett made the jump from Cair Paravel, which was just starting to make the transition from the Kansas Christian Athletic Conference to the Kansas State High School Athletic Association, to Washburn during the COVID-cancelled 2020 season and admitted that it took multiple seasons before she felt truly comfortable at the college level.
"I think honestly it was probably until about my junior year when I finally started grasping how different it all is,'' Pridgett said. "Obviously you can kind of see it more on the sideline and when you're playing a little bit, but I think as you mature you kind of see little things that you kind of missed early on in your career.''
Pridgett saw spot action early in her career, playing in 15 matches as a freshman and 11 matches with one start as a sophomore before working her way into a more prominent role last fall, playing in 21 matches with three starts while registering 108 kills with 29 total blocks and 25 digs.
Pridgett knocked down a career-high 13 kills while hitting .435 in a late-season match against Emporia State.
"I think I finally felt more like myself and how I used to play in high school and in club, so it was nice finding my groove again in that sense and then just building on it,'' said Pridgett, who had four matches with double-digit kills in 2023.
"Cair Paravel, it's high school and the teams weren't necessarily super-competitive in our conference and then you get to Washburn, you're in the MIAA, one of the hardest conferences in the country, so it's a big transition.''
Pridgett and the Ichabods will open the 2024 season at the Kansas City Classic with three matches across three days Thursday through Saturday. The Ichabods' first two matches will be played at Rockhurst University, with the final match on Saturday against the co-host, William Jewell.
Washburn, which is coming off a 17-11 season, will open the season against Sioux Falls (S.D.) at 4 p.m. Thursday before facing Winona State at 10 a.m. on Friday, with both matches played at Mason-Halpin Field House on the campus of Rockhurst University. WU wraps up the weekend at 11 a.m. on Saturday against William Jewell in Liberty, Mo.
Beginning her final season, the psychology and philosophy major just wants to do everything she can to make her senior year her best year.
"I just want to leave it all out there,'' Pridgett said. "This is the last time, the last opportunity that I have, so I might as well go out with a bang and just make the most of everything.''
