Erie High School senior Lily Kurz has committed to Missouri Western State University to pursue her academic and athletic career at the division two-level, with a verbal commitment on Tuesday, September 1, 2020, and officially marked her name on the line to seal the deal on November 12, 2020.

“My sister has played volleyball pretty much her whole life, so I have always been around the sport. As a kid, I was a multi-sport athlete. I played rec basketball, volleyball, and soccer. And then around seventh grade, I decided that I wanted to stick with volleyball.” says Kurz.

Kurz has been an athlete her whole life, keeping her volleyball career at the top. She has pursued this sport, to be able to compete at the collegiate level.

“I chose Missouri Western because when I went on the official visit it just felt like home. The coaches and other players were so nice and welcoming and the facilities were absolutely amazing.” Kurz continues, “I feel like their volleyball program is on a really good track right now, and it is going to be very successful in the future.”

Missouri Western State was the best fit for Kurz, due to the fact that it is a division two school, as well as being smaller and more personal. However, getting to this school had its troubles. Kurz had to demonstrate a commitment to the sport as a whole.

“A lot of my recruiting happened junior year, but that was kind of tough because we only had one of our qualifier tournaments, which is where the majority of college coaches come and watch. So a lot of my recruiting turned into online recruiting. Which included sending out a lot of film and then a lot of phone calls with coaches” explains Kurz.

COVID-19 has made recruiting a pain, not only for the athletes but for the schools as well. This pandemic has forced less face to face contact and more virtual meetings between coaches and players.

“I was lucky enough that the school that I am committed to now, their coaches were at one of the tournaments that we got to play at,” comments Kurz.

Missouri Western State coaches had been watching Kurz, not only through film, but also through the qualifier tournaments she went to her junior year. This in turn helped her to commit. Missouri Western State was the school that stuck out the most out of the schools she was talking to.

“I was talking to Ilan University in North Carolina, University of Northern Alabama, William and Mary, George Mason University, Regis and Northwest Missouri State.” Says Kurz.

Making the decision was hard for Kurz. She had an offer from Northwest Missouri State, but chose Missouri Western State, because of the environment and the feeling of home.

Kurz is happy to be able to play at the collegiate level but proud to say she was a Tiger.