Peyton Carlson leads the way for Comet’s volleyball

Peyton Carlson helped the Waupaca Comets finish with a 20-10 record and reach the regional final in 2024. Now a senior, she’s ready to lead her team again after earning First-Team All-State and unanimous North Eastern All-Conference honors last year.

 

Peyton, who is committed to play at Creighton University next fall, went through the recruiting process early in her high school career. “I am going off to college in January to play Division 1 volleyball at Creighton. My recruiting journey was really crazy when I was 16 years old. It was an absolutely busy week of emails, endless phone calls, long discussions, and even travel to various other colleges. Truly, Creighton felt like home. Not only was the level of play and coaching staff important in my decision, but the players also were an instrumental part of my decision.”

 

Introduced to the sport by her sister, Tayler, Peyton began competing at the age of 10, making volleyball her first passion. However, she also participated in other sports throughout her adolescence. “I did swim competitively from age seven to nine years old. I also played basketball in middle school. Because of playing at the level I have with all of the travel and commitment for practices, there is not enough time for any other commitments.”

 

During her high school career, Peyton has utilized her time for her studies. “The balance has been difficult because of my travel for club. I have traveled for club all throughout high school. Starting in January through April, I am on the road in different cities every other weekend. Over the years, I have done a lot of school work in the car and in hotel rooms. I have definitely developed good tactics on how to stay on top of things and manage my time wisely. I appreciate all of my teachers along the way who have given me grace with my attendance and completion of assignments.”

 

The camaraderie of a team sport and new challenges keep Peyton drawn to volleyball. “My favorite part of this sport is the team aspect. Because I competitively swam, I quickly learned that the individual aspect wasn’t for me.

 

In volleyball, you are with five other girls on the court, so you learn to work very closely with each other and learn to trust each other. I have been lucky to make some of my best friends on this journey.” Because I have had the opportunity to play on the highest-level teams, I have been challenged every single year. I was even challenged to learn a new position, which I will be playing in college. Each practice and every tournament, I have something to improve on, and I find joy in continuing to grow both physically and mentally as a player”.

 

Peyton has had memorable moments in her high school career, both at the club level and competing for the Comets. “I played club volleyball in Appleton for FC Elite. In 8th grade, I played on a 16’s national team and won a national championship. I was chosen as MVP of that tournament. For all of my high school years, I played on the 18 elite team, which was the most competitive team in the club. This past season, we took 9th in the country, which was super impressive from a team from a smaller community.”

 

Carlson reminisces over a favorite memory from competing for Waupaca during her sophomore season, “The game was at Mosinee, and what made it so memorable was the crowd/community that traveled with us. Mosinee’s gym is quite small, and the gym sold out of tickets for our game; there were people sitting on the stairs in the bleachers because there was no other place for people to sit. This made the gym electric and brought energy that I’ve never experienced before. Being fortunate enough to have played club volleyball and traveling around the country to play in huge tournaments doesn’t hold a candle to what I felt that night. We won in 3 sets and advanced to sectional finals, which had not happened in well over a decade.”

 

On seeing her progress from her freshman year to the first weeks of being a senior, “I cannot believe I am here to be honest! I am going to be leaving for college early to train with Creighton in the Spring. With time dwindling down, I know I will take advantage and enjoy all of the moments before they are gone. While I know club has given me the opportunity to land at Creighton, high school has given me a chance to work on leadership and role model skills that I will use for the rest of my life.”

 

Peyton shows appreciation to everyone who has been with her through her high school journey, “I have had so many memorable coaches and teammates from all these years, not only from here in Waupaca but also over in the Appleton area. I’d like to give a shoutout to Liz Kneer and all the staff here at Waupaca who have been so supportive of my crazy schedule.”

 

A successful season for the Comets starts with Peyton and her competitive drive, “One of my biggest assets is my will to take over the game. I don’t even realize when I switch into this gear, but I do know that it is my competitive side that just takes over. It does not matter if we are working on drills in practice or if the season is on the line, I want to win.”