Wednesday, March 29, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
9
Hawley Harrer set to play volleyball for UCLA Bruins
By Rongi Yost
Correspondent
Hawley Harrer has volley-
ball in her blood.
Her mom, Janice, is a
Hall of Fame sand volleyball
player, and her dad, Tom,
played volleyball at the Uni-
versity of Hawaii and was also
a sand volleyball player. So, it
only seems natural that Haw-
ley follow in their footsteps.
Harrer started playing vol-
leyball at 3 years of age and
has been hard at work at the
sport ever since. Hawley
moved to Sisters when she
was 7 years old and played
through Sisters Park & Rec-
reation District all the way
through middle school. She
started on the high school var-
sity squad her freshman year,
has been a stand-out player
every year, and has accumu-
lated numerous awards.
Harrer was selected first-
team all-league and first team
all-state both her sophomore
and junior years, and this year
she was named the 4A Player
of the Year. Hawley’s sopho-
more year the Outlaws placed
second at the state tourna-
ment, and this year they were
crowned state champs.
Harrer started playing on
an elite club team, Oregon
Volleyball Academy (OVA)
when she was in sixth grade.
She’s a right-side hitter,
but primarily a six-foot-
one-inch lefty setter, which
is an advantage in itself.
“Setters don’t normally
tend to be tall,” said Har-
rer. “And, being a lefty is
an advantage because I can
attack when I’m in the front
row.”
Hawley lives and breathes
volleyball.
“I love volleyball, and I
have a passion for it because
of how competitive it can
get,” said Harrer. “I feel like
I can show who I am through
the sport.”
Hawley has played club
volleyball since she was in
fourth grade. She’s played
on the Rimrock 18s National
Team since she was a fresh-
man. The elite club team
boasts top players from all
over Central Oregon. The
team travels extensively and
has played in high-caliber
tournaments in Denver, Colo-
rado; Reno and Las Vegas,
Nevada; and also Seattle,
Washington. In addition,
they attend two big qualifiers
every year. The squad travels
at least every other week-
end to compete in smaller
tournaments held in Salem,
Portland, Corvallis, Eugene,
and Kelso, Washington.
Harrer played in the Matt
Horner Memorial, a big tour-
nament in Eugene, and at a
couple of qualifiers her fresh-
man year, and colleges were
quick to notice her abilities.
At the close of her fresh-
man year top schools across
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the nation, including UCLA,
University of Washington,
Utah, Cal Berkley, Colorado,
Washington State University,
Dartmouth, University of San
Diego, Oregon State Univer-
sity, and Pepperdine, to name
a few, told Hawley they were
interested.
Hawley made some col-
lege visits, and checked out
UCLA twice. Last year, in
the early spring of her sopho-
more year, Harrer commit-
ted to play for UCLA. Her
NCAA official signing will be
November of her senior year.
“I got to see UCLA play,
got shown around the campus,
and toured the athletic facili-
ties,” said Harrer. “The cam-
pus is amazing and gorgeous,
and walking into the Pauley
Pavilion takes your breath
away. It’s really big. It has
the atmosphere of excitement
and makes you want to win. It
makes you want to be a part
of a national championship
seeing all the banners from
volleyball and basketball.”
Hawley commented on
why she committed so early
(sophomore) to play for
UCLA.
“Colleges are recruiting
earlier to get the best play-
ers,” said Harrer. “It puts pres-
sure on the players to decide
sooner because the colleges
want to get the best of the best
and fill their rosters early for
years ahead.
“I just felt like UCLA was
R
Rendezvous
Salon
Marla Brinkman
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
Hawley Harrer has made an early commitment to be a Bruin.
a good fit for me. The school
has a heritage, and a program
with indoor and beach volley-
ball. I know the coaching staff
personalities will jive with me
and I agree with their coach-
ing philosophies.”
Harrer will continue to
play club ball and finish her
high school career next fall.
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Hawley recently returned
from a big qualifier in Las
Vegas where the Rimrocks
took third out of 150 teams,
which is a historic finish for
any Oregon team. Her most
recent accolade was being
named to the prep volleyball
top 50 players in the class of
2018 nationwide.
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