Photo courtesy of Barb Johnson: Wabasso seniors Sara Carlson (left) and Audrey Johnson pose for a photo together at Wabasso High School. The two recently finished their senior seasons together as the school’s record holders in career digs and set assists, with Johnson taking the digs record and Carlson taking the set assists record.

WABASSO — A good set assist is only as good as the dig or pass leading up to it.

Wabasso seniors Audrey Johnson and Sara Carlson knew that well during their five seasons with the Rabbits’ varsity volleyball team, finishing their final year together this past fall as the school’s career record holders in digs and set assists, respectively.

Having a player set a school career record during the year is an exciting milestone that shows hard work and dedication. But having two players on the same team do that in the same season shows a true team bond that isn’t built overnight.

Johnson and Carlson made that two-for-one special accomplishment happen in September and only added on to their records the rest of the season.

Johnson was first in the record books on Sept. 18 during nonconference action at Renville County West after her 20 digs put her ahead of Jamie Taylor, née Goblirsch, who finished her career at Wabasso with 1,433 digs in 2015.

Johnson ended up finishing with 1,653 digs for her career.

“I think getting this record meant a lot to me, especially being around Wabasso volleyball with my mom [Barb] being the coach,” Johnson said. “There were so many times I walked through the hallway and we’ll just look at the record list and I would just stare at it and think, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to be on there so bad one day.’ So breaking the record just meant so much to me, and being able to do it with Sara’s later in the season meant even more because she was the girl with me both staring at the record board and thinking that we want to be up there someday.”

Johnson added that before the season, she and Carlson made a list of goals for their senior year. Their personal goals were to break the school records in career digs and assists, which they wrote down and ultimately accomplished.

After Johnson’s milestone night, Carlson got her name in the record books on Sept. 25 in a Tomahawk win at Lester Prairie. Her 39 set assists that night pushed her ahead of the previous record holder, Jocelyn Lang, née Rothmeier, who had 1,999 set assists for her career and also graduated in 2015.

Carlson finished her career in October with 2,321 set assists.

“Just watching the girls that held the records, we managed [them], so watching them play and also just looking at the boards, it’s just been a huge goal for both of us,” Carlson said. “I remember each year we set goals for ourselves and one personal goal that was really big for me was last year getting to 1,000 and this year beating the school record, it just means a lot. It’s just a huge goal to accomplish and doing it my senior year with my best friend is just a blessing.”

As good a captain and setter as Carlson was during her career, she knew how important Johnson was to her success and said she benefited from her in multiple ways over the years.

“You need a good pass to get a good set to get a good hit, so having her kind of being the dictator of our defense was nice to have,” Carlson said. “Very consistent with her passes all the time, and it was good having someone that can lead the back row when I’m not there.”

Johnson said during her time at libero, she never felt underappreciated and was glad to help set up a strong attack. That attack led the Rabbits to four winning seasons and a Tomahawk Conference title in 2023 during Johnson and Carlson’s five years together on varsity.

“I think our team does a very good job of not overlooking the libero position and always making sure to give the pass credit, whether it was me or not,” Johnson said. “And getting to play with those hitters and Sara as a setter, it’s just nice watching them make something good of what I did or knowing when I get a good pass, I just feel confident that everyone’s gonna work their hardest and make something good of my pass.”

Carlson and Johnson may have reached the varsity level together as eighth-graders in 2021, but that didn’t lead to instant success during that season, as the Rabbits finished 8-16 during a rebuilding year. In 2022, however, the Rabbits went 18-8 before going 15-10 and winning the Tomahawk in 2023. They then went 19-10 in 2024 and finished 18-12 this past season.

“I think it’s been really special and fun to have each other throughout the five years because we’ve always had someone to relate to … it’s not very often that you’re in eighth grade playing on varsity,” Johnson said. “Just having that partner there that knows exactly how you’re feeling and just that someone you can rely on, and that goes for every year. Being a ninth-grader still playing together, being the 10th-graders who have big roles on the team and then just going through, having our last senior year knowing that we’ve played five years together and this is our last one and we want it to be special.”

Carlson added that her bond with Johnson and their leadership skills developed a lot during their time playing together.

“Playing with each other for so long, we get to know each other off the court but also on the court,” Carlson said. “Knowing our strengths and weaknesses and being able to lift each other up and help each other through the tough parts of the game or being leaders for the rest of the team, knowing how they all take it, too.”

Johnson called Carlson a worker who never quit on a play and led by example.

“She really does not complain much at all, especially sometimes we have really bad passing days and we send her flying all over the court and she’s gonna run after every single ball,” Johnson said. “She’s going to put in the most effort and run after every ball and do her best to help.”

Carlson was equally complimentary of her senior teammate and friend, pointing out Johnson’s knowledge of the game and ability to teach after mistakes.

“Audrey is a very big helper in the back row and it’s good to have her,” Carlson said. “She just knows every position everywhere, so she’s very good at helping everyone knowing where to go. She owns up to her mistakes when something bad happens but is also there for you. And when she knows you made a mistake, she’s there for you and helps you get past it because volleyball’s a game of mistakes. You’ve gotta have someone to talk to to help you move past it.”

Johnson will continue her volleyball career in college at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls next fall and plans to study business. Carlson will put an end to her competitive volleyball career but also plans to study business at either South Dakota State University or Southwest Minnesota State University.