Published: July 19, 2008 01:16 am            

The right choice: After a year at Western, Koetter transferring to IU to play volleyball

Hayley Koetter doesn’t feel like she made a mistake when she decided what college to attend. But she thinks her second choice maybe should have been first.

After spending last season at Western Kentucky University, the former Providence volleyball star is moving on to Bloomington, jumping from the Sun Belt Conference to the Big Ten as a member of the Indiana University volleyball squad.

“I’m very excited,” said Koetter, who played in every match for the Hilltoppers as a freshman last season. “I can’t wait to get started. Everyone gets nervous, of course, but I think it’s going to be great.”

Koetter flirted with greatness at times during her initial college campaign, ending up with 139 digs (fifth on the team) from her position as a defensive specialist. She registered 38 service aces as well, tying her for the team’s third-highest mark on a WKU squad that went 27-9 with a 14-3 record in the Sun Belt.

But the transfer didn’t come about because of issues within the volleyball program. Koetter insists that her experience there was a great one.

“It’s nothing they did,” she said. “I like the program. I loved having (WKU coach Travis Hudson) as a coach.”

The decision to transfer was purely about off-the-court matters that she thinks will be resolved on the much larger Indiana campus. Koetter, an apparel merchandise major who is minoring in business, believes the IU programs will better serve her life after volleyball.

“IU is one of the top-rated schools for my degree,” she said. “I just didn’t want to go through college with anything less than the best experience for me. It just seems like a better fit.”

It was Koetter’s relationship with Hudson that helped smooth the sometimes-tricky recruiting process. Until Koetter received her outright release from Western, she was forbidden from contacting other schools per NCAA regulations. But once the sanction was lifted, Hudson made a few calls to the IU coaching staff and set Koetter up for a visit.

Through a stroke of good luck, the Hoosiers were looking for another defensive player, thus sealing Koetter’s move.

It also didn’t hurt that IU has another Providence graduate on its roster.

Koetter will be reunited with Juli Pierce, who has made a name for herself as one of the top defensive players to ever wear the cream and crimson. Last season, Pierce broke the school’s all-time record for digs in a season with 481, moving up to third on the career list as she enters her senior season.

“I always wanted to play with her,” said Koetter of Pierce, who was a senior when Koetter played on the junior varsity during her freshman season at Providence. “It will be nice to be able to call her when I have a question, and be able to talk to someone who is from the same place I’m from.”

While she has yet to hit the court with her new teammates, Koetter says she is well aware of the jump in talent from the Sun Belt to the Big Ten.

She got a taste of that difference last season, when Western met IU early in the season. The Hilltoppers also played perennial IU rival Kentucky and other larger schools that will be part of the Hoosiers’ schedule this season.

“At Western, there were certain matches that we prepared for against the larger teams, although we were certainly prepared for every match.” Koetter said. “But in the Big Ten, you play big schools back-to-back. There is never a break.”

Playing time is never guaranteed when moving to a larger school, and Koetter says she is prepared to face the rigors of competition for a spot that she might have had locked up already had she stayed at Western.

“The way I understand it, the best players are going to play,” she said. “Everyone wants to play, but you have to go out and earn it. If I work hard, I think everything will be fine.”

When she was making her initial college choice, the final two on her list were Indiana and Western. Now, she feels like she’s finally made the right one.

“Even at the time, I felt like IU was a good fit for me,” she said. “I’ve known for a while now that this is where I want to be.”

Indiana will open its season at Long Beach State on Aug. 29.

        

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