When senior Lauren Emmert took the volleyball court for the first time this season, she felt relieved having the weight of a college decision off her shoulders.
Emmert said she was recruited by Division I volleyball programs such as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Florida Gulf Coast University, but she ultimately decided to commit to Michigan Tech University of the Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
“I really love the team atmosphere [at Michigan Tech]… I just felt at home,” Emmert said.
The process of talking to colleges was made easy by a number of nice coaches, said Emmert. But that did not mean it was easy from the start.
“[The recruiting process] was intimidating at first, but I realized that I didn’t really care how good the school particularly was [at volleyball],” said Emmert. “I’d rather go find somewhere that I liked and that turned out to be Michigan Tech.”
Emmert returns as a middle hitter for her final season with the Spartans after being awarded Most Valuable Player of the team last season, in which she led the team in both kills and blocks with 274 and 37, respectively. She also had a hitting percentage of .461, which Chris Cooper, head varsity volleyball coach, considers to be impressive.
Expectations are high for Emmert, who was also named the Central Suburban League North Player of the Year last season. Cooper expects her to be able to “pick up where she left off” last year.
This was not made easy on Emmert, who injured her shoulder early this season, causing her to miss about a week. Emmert said that the injury was a result of overuse and not from a particular incident.
According to Emmert, she eased back into the lineup before making her return on Sept. 11 against rival Glenbrook South. The weekend before her return, Emmert warmed up with the team, but did not play. In the days leading up to the GBS match, Emmert said she went a little bit harder in warm-ups. By the time she made her return on the floor of the Titan Dome, her shoulder injury was not a factor.
Emmert said she hopes the injury will not have an effect on her playing the rest of the season.
“[My shoulder is] definitely something I have to keep an eye on, just in case it [gets worse],” Emmert said.
Emmert plays club volleyball for Wildcat Juniors, a program that uses Northwestern University’s Welsh-Ryan Arena as its primary practice facility. Playing club volleyball increased Emmert’s chances of being looked at by college programs.
“[College scouts] can go and see hundreds of kids at these club tournaments rather than coming to a high school tournament or a high school game where they see one or two [players],” Cooper said.
On top of that, Cooper said, college programs are often preoccupied with their own girls’ season during the fall. The club season is primarily where players, such as Emmert, are recruited.
In her final high school season, Emmert looks to lead the team to a conference championship and hopes to make it past regionals in the state tournament.
“She’s gonna go on and keep having success at the next level,” Cooper said.