Experience ... and 'a couple new pieces' — Six seniors, a talented freshman and other key players have Post Falls volleyball team in position to challenge at state

By MARK NELKE 

Sports editor 

Post Falls High senior setter Lucy Carr has been looking forward to playing at state since her freshman year. 

That year, she was on the Post Falls team that qualified for state. 

But a few days before state, she was playing volleyball with her youth group. 

Apparently, it's quite the competitive youth group. 

A male player went up to hit the ball ... and Carr suffered a concussion. 

"I got hit in the face with the ball. ... at my youth group," Carr recalled. "It was crazy." 

The 5-foot-5 Carr was not able to play with her high school team at state. 

This year, Post Falls has qualified for state for the first time since then. Carr is one of two setters in a 6-2 offense for the fourth-seeded Trojans (22-3), who play fifth-seeded Rocky Mountain (22-5) of Meridian on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Coeur d'Alene High in a first-round match.

"I wanted to play so bad, and when I found out I had a concussion I was so mad," Carr recalled. "I need to go to state. This year, going to state, I'm so ready, so excited to be able to actually play on the court." 

Carr is one of six seniors on this year's Post Falls team, most of which played key roles last year when the Trojans pushed eventual district champion Coeur d'Alene to a deciding match before falling short of advancing to state. 

This year, with those seniors a year older and more experienced, and the addition of a talented freshman, Post Falls won its first league title since tying Coeur d'Alene for the Inland Empire League crown in 2023, and won the district title for the first time since 2022. 

"We got so close," senior outside hitter/setter Teresa Smith said of last year, "and we got a couple new pieces." 

The 5-10 Smith is in her third year on the varsity. She wants to play setter in college, but plays outside hitter for the good of her high school team, and is busy in the back row as well. Smith and freshman outside hitter Peyton Barclift are the lone six-rotation players. 

"Maybe she (Smith) is not flashy, but she is our strongest defensively," said first-year Post Falls head coach Casey Cornett, a Trojans assistant the past four years. "She's one of our strongest hitters, she can block well, she can set the ball ... "  

"She's taken the role of an outside hitter to help the team; she's super unselfish. The last game we played against Lake City she hit a .444. She may not go up and pound like 'P' (Peyton Barclift) does, but she gets the ball down. She finds her shots; she makes very little errors." 

The other four seniors are Reese DeGraw (middle blocker/right side hitter), Rylie Gump (middle), Annabelle Tucker (middle/right side) and Malia Uemoto (setter/right side). 

Sophomore Lucy Smith, Teresa's sister, is a varsity newcomer and the other setter with Carr in a 6-2. 

Two other sophomores, Jade Laos and Danica Pratt, are the liberos. Junior Khloe Neal is a reserve right side hitter. 

The team's top hitter, from Day 1, has been the 6-1 Barclift — all across the front of the net, and often from the back row.  

Barclift's mom, the former Desiree Johnson, was a multisport star at Post Falls High, graduating in 2001. 

"Peyton's a phenomenal player, and she gets us to a high level, but it's the overall team that's going to help us find success in the long term," Cornett said. "She definitely brings a competitive standard. She's a leader, even as a freshman. She does such a good job of not only playing well, but raising the level of her teammates around her.  

"Our other outside, Teresa, she's phenomenal too," Cornett added. "Overall, it's a really unselfish team, and Peyton fits in really well with that. She's an unselfish player. She's a competitive player, don't get me wrong, she wants the ball every time, but she also knows for us to ultimately win, we need to have a balanced team." 

Teresa Smith, a senior, said Barclift, a freshman, is her role model. 

"She's such a special player to play beside, because, obviously her skill inspires me, but like her personality just lifts the team up so much," Teresa Smith said of Barclift. "We would not be the team we are without her. Having her this season has made me up my game from last season." 

In response, Barclift said Teresa Smith is her role model. 

"Ever since I was really little, I always looked up to her consistency," Barclift said. "She's really helped me in serve-receive and I've helped her in hitting and blocking. I think the connection between us two has been incredible."