Payton Wrighster plays defense first, and it shows in how quickly she named it herself: defense and serve pressure are the two things she believes coaches see first when they watch her compete. That identity held up under real pressure at the AAU tournament. Against AVA TX, her team was down seven in the second set, the kind of deficit that ends most matches before it really gets started, and Payton went back to serve. She didn’t describe a miracle run or a hot streak. She described doing her job, point after point, until her team had climbed all the way back and won.

Payton isn’t waiting for the moment to feel comfortable before she competes in it. She’s not doing college camps this summer. She’s committed to being a CIT at SCDC instead, which tells you something about how she prioritizes her time. She’s also building toward a pre-med track academically, and she credits ASB and team leadership with teaching her the discipline to manage both. Coaches recruiting a libero who can serve a team out of a hole should already have her on the radar.

~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247