CHEYENNE – Versatility has never been an issue for Kiera Walsh.

The Cheyenne East junior has moved to different positions over the past three volleyball seasons, playing wherever the team needs her most, whenever needed.

Walsh mainly played middle blocker during her freshman campaign, moving up to the varsity squad about midway through the season following a stint with the junior varsity team. Last season, the Lady Thunderbirds’ rightside hitter was injured, thrusting Walsh into that role.

This fall, she’s had the duty of handling both positions.

“I’ve kind of just moved everywhere,” Walsh said. “And being willing to learn and work has been the biggest learning curve I’ve been fighting, because I just want to go out there and be good, but having to move positions so much, there’s different techniques for each, and you have to get different feels for the ball.”

Even though Walsh says it’s been somewhat difficult shifting to different positions, both she and East coach Nicole Quigley believe she hasn’t skipped a beat while maintaining the switch-ups.

Playing both positions almost exclusively has helped her get to the point that she’s at now. She currently paces the T-Birds in kills (134) and is second in blocks (68).

She’s proven she’s an all-around contributor.

“(Walsh) done a really great job (of handling changing positions),” Quigley said. “All around, she’s very versatile, and it really helps us when something does happen to be able to have that option to go to ... I’m proud of the way she’s handled it.”

The individual statistics can get swept under the rug for Walsh, whose primary focus is helping her team compete and win. She highlights her team for helping set her up for the successful season she has had.

“Connecting with the setters and communicating with the team have been the biggest things for me,” she said. “The support of my teammates and the energy they bring helps me do what I do.”

East (12-7) enters the Class 4A state tournament today as the No. 4 seed from the East and will face Rock Springs, which is the No. 1 seed out of the West. The T-Birds were upset by Thunder Basin in the semifinals of last year’s state tournament after entering as a No. 1 seed and one of the favorites to take home the title.

The T-Birds struggled in the regional tournament last week, finishing with a 1-3 record. They’ll look to get back to winning form during the unusual single-day state tournament that takes place today, rather than the normal three-day event.

East was forced to take time off the court for a couple weeks because of COVID-19 contact tracing and quarantining. Walsh and her team are getting back into the groove of things and hope to peak at the right time. She knows her team just needs to play the way it’s proven it can at different points throughout the season.

“We just need to go out and play our game as one unit and not as six individual players,” Walsh said. “And I believe we can 100% do that.”

Robert Munoz is a writer for WyoSports. He can be reached at rmunoz@wyosports.net. Follow him on Twitter @rmunoz307.