Cheyenne South hires Kiarra Johnson as volleyball coach

Jan. 30—CHEYENNE — Kiarra Johnson helped engineer a turnaround during her three seasons as head volleyball coach at Blackfoot (Idaho) High.

The Broncos got progressively better during her tenure, and snapped a 40-year state tournament drought this past fall.

She hopes to do the same with Cheyenne South after being hired as its coach last week. She replaced Cherisa Applehunt, who stepped down in early November after four seasons coaching the Bison.

"I have a ton of family out there, and I haven't been able to live close to them yet in my life," Johnson said. "I thought this was a great opportunity and chance to live close to them because a lot of them are starting their own families.

"I've been able to turn one program around. Hopefully, I can go make an impact on another one."

One of the family members Johnson has in the Cheyenne area is first-year South athletics director Wendy Johnson. The elder Johnson removed herself from the hiring process once Kiarra applied. A three-person committee that included South Principal Phil Thompson narrowed the pool of applicants, interviewed the five finalists and voted to hire Kiarra.

"I was completely removed from it," Wendy Johnson said. "Whatever (the committee) picked, that's how it was going to be."

Kiarra Johnson grew up in a gym during Wendy Johnson's time as an assistant and head volleyball coach. She had a standout career at Idaho Falls High, helping the Tigers win a Class 5A state championship in 2011. Idaho Falls also was state runner-up in 2010.

Johnson spent two seasons as a setter at Casper College before finishing her career at NAIA Montana Western.

Johnson coached various levels of volleyball in both the club and high school ranks prior to taking over as Blackfoot's head coach in 2020. The Broncos entered this season's six-team district tournament seeded fifth. They finished second to earn their spot at the Class 4A state tournament, where they opened with a loss to the eventual state champions.

"It was a long shot, but I told the girls that it didn't matter what happened during the regular season, it only mattered if we won that weekend," Johnson said. "They went in with that mentality. We knew we were underdogs, we had no pressure on us, and the pressure was all on the other teams.

"The girls took it to a whole new level at the district tournament and were incredible to watch. It was all them changing it and embracing it."

South — which opened in 2010 — is still looking for its first state tournament berth. Wendy Johnson said she thinks the Bison could have found the coach that ends that drought.

"One of the things the hiring committee said it liked is that she understands what it takes to build a program," South's athletics director said. "She's young, she has the energy that I used to have, and she can go into our elementary feeders and our junior high feeders and start helping them develop the skills at a younger age so they're not having to learn a lot of that when they get here."

Righting a ship is a process, and the focus must be on the larger goal, Kiarra Johnson said.

"I have learned so much about changing my style to fit the players," she said. "I prefer to focus on developing high volleyball IQs and keeping the love for the game alive, because I know how easily that can get destroyed. I want to focus on technique and fundamentals. I want that to be the start of it.

"I also want responsibility in all areas. I want girls showing up on time and being consistent in getting to practice and not being late unless it's for academics or an emergency."

Johnson's older sister, Kaitlyn Zarpentine, just finished her first season as Sheridan's head coach. Kiarra was able to watch the Broncs square off with South this past fall. While she isn't intimately familiar with the Bison's roster, she knows how she would like to start building her program.

"I want to get into some high-competition events with good teams from around Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska and wherever else," she said. "I like being able to play against really good competition because it puts your goal in front of you and gives you something to keep working toward.

"My Blackfoot team was able to get into some events in Utah that really helped us improve. That was crucial to getting things going for us."

Wendy Johnson made it a point of thanking Applehunt for all she gave to South volleyball over the past four seasons, describing her as dedicated and passionate about the school and team.

"She has young kids, so she felt like it was time to focus on her family," Wendy Johnson said. "Being a coach is very time-consuming, so I understand that. I really appreciate all she did. She has a heart of gold and cares so deeply about the kids at South.

"You can't really replace that end of it, and we'll miss her for that."

Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on Twitter at @jjohnke.