Coach Payton Van Veen is a Willard High School alum who made a significant impact on their volleyball program. After her sophomore season resulted in All-District and All-Conference honors as well as a trip to the Class 4 State Final Four, Payton spent the next year and a half battling back from two ACL surgeries. She returned for her senior season not only to break the Missouri Class 4 record for kills/season, but also led the Willard Volleyball Team to a Class 4 State Tournament Title.

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Payton started her collegiate career at the Division II level. In her first season at Colorado State University-Pueblo, she was the conference Freshman of the Year and received AVCA All-American honors. She was First Team All-Conference and led the CSU-P volleyball team in overall kills and points for both of her seasons there. Payton completed her collegiate career at Arkansas State, helping the Division I program win the Sun Belt Conference and return to the NCAA Championship Tournament.

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Throughout her collegiate career, Payton coached at multiple youth camps and prospect camps run by the universities. Payton has returned to her hometown to continue her post-grad education and is excited to step back into the local volleyball world and be a part of growing the sport that she continues to enjoy today.