FORT DODGE — A former Tipton Tiger has decided to continue her volleyball career as she pursues a bachelor’s
of arts degree. 2016 THS graduate Michele O’Haver recently signed a national letter of intent to play volleyball at Life University in Marietta, Georgia.
“I decided that I wanted to continue my education to get a Bachelor’s degree. I also knew that I still had two years of eligibility to play college volleyball, which was a no-brainer for me. I knew I wanted to keep playing,” said O’Haver.
O’Haver chose Life University over Peru State College in Peru, Nebraska, and Williams Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri.
“When I rst decided that I wanted to keep playing I knew I was going to keep my options small and go get a degree that will compliment my Associates degree in Dental hygiene, as well as playing volleyball, I didn’t want to go to school just to play volleyball even though I love it,” she said.
O’Haver plans to major in Health Coaching at Life. O’Haver is a 2016 graduate of Tipton High School and a 2019 graduate of Iowa Central Community College. She graduated with a dental hygienist degree. Only 15 are accepted into the program. O’Haver is the daughter of Lisa O’Haver and the late Mikel O’Haver.
In her senior season at THS, O’Haver had 40 kills, 33 digs, 13 blocks and served a near-perfect 41-for-45 in a shortened senior season. Her junior season, she earned all-conference honors while leading the Tigers in kills with 199 and served 237-for-263 while tying for the team lead in aces with 24. She had 145 digs and a team-high 37 blocks. O’Haver was a hitter for the THS volleyball team. The Tigers were 21-13 her senior year and while she was at THS, she was part of three winning seasons and was part of 71-match wins in her four years as a Tiger.
At Iowa Central, O’Haver played two seasons. She had 801 career digs including 769 her sophomore year in 38 matches. She had 43 assists as well. She played in 54 matches as a defensive specialist and libero. The Tritons placed 10th at the National tournament her sophomore year and helped them to a ranking of 16th and a 32-11 record. She broke the ICC school record for digs in a match with 44 in a single match on October 20, 2017, in a match with Labette. She was ranked 11th in the country at one point in dig totals her senior season.
O’Haver noted that the recruiting process was interesting this time around.
“Being recruited again was stressful progress, even more, stressful than coming straight out of high school. There is
so much more that goes into it, especially since I will come to a new school as a transfer student and wanting credits to transfer,” said O’Haver.
“Also I was injured my senior year of high school so I felt like I didn’t have a lot of options in the beginning but choosing Iowa central was the best decision of my life. My head Coach, Sara Horn played Division 1 volleyball at Nebraska after transferring from a school in California and she helped me through this process of recruiting so much since she has been in my shoes before. She encouraged me to follow my gut and pick a school that would bene t me the most,” she said.
Life University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The Eagles are in the Mid- South Conference. Schools in the conference are Campbells- ville University, Cumberland University, Georgetown College, Lindsey Wilson College, Shawnee State University, Thomas More University, The University of Pikeville, and the University of the Cumberlands. The Eagles were 11-22 overall last season and 5-9 in conference play. They boasted a 7-5 record at home last season. The Eagles are coached by Steve Wilcosky. Wilcosky enters his fth season as the head coach. He is the only coach in program history as the Eagles began volleyball in the 2015 season.
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