By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
On Wednesday afternoon one of the all-time Lady Royal greats agreed to become a Cougar as Alyssa Harrer signed her letter-of-intent to Mount Vernon Nazarene University.
Harrer, who was a star for Wynford in both basketball and volleyball, will be focusing on her volleyball game for the MVNU Cougars while pursuing her degree in education. Harrer explained why she chose to attend MVNU.
“I really like Mount Vernon when I went on my visit, it was just a great facility and a great campus. And it was just awesome to see all the people they are always just smiling, looking like they are having a great time, and that just made me want to go there.” Harrer said.
Harrer said that a few schools were on her list, but once visiting Mount Vernon she knew she had a fit.
“I had a few schools like Wooster and stuff like that, but I knew right from the beginning right after I went on my visit that I would be going to Mount Vernon,” Harrer continued.
Alyssa’s mom Donya Harrer was proud of her daughter.
“It is very exciting, we are very excited for her. She really worked hard for this so we are very proud of her,” Donya Harrer said.
Wynford volleyball coach Chelsea Keegan discussed her former player’s choice to continue on in college.
“I think it is pretty awesome to do that. It is my first year as a varsity coach; I mean having a player able to do that is amazing to me.” Keegan said. “She has had a lot of coaches and I am sure they are all proud of her. This is a really great accomplishment that she has achieved.”
In her final season as a Lady Royal, Harrer played in 82 sets finishing fourth in the N-10 in hitting with 311 kills on 791 attempts and averaging 3.79 kills per game. Harrer finished sixth in the league in serving with 49 aces on 317 attempts and a .924 serving percentage. She finished 10th in the league in serves received averaging 4.32 per game.
Athletic Director Tim Ehrsman said it was nice to see Harrer’s work pay off.
“It is nice to see a player of Alyssa’s ability to be recognized and move on to the next level and play,” Ehrsman said. “I think all the time and effort that she has put in has paid off.”