Kaup signs with Colonels

FORT RECOVERY — Hannah Kaup didn’t play a single point for the Indians during her senior season. But the devastating knee injury that kept her from the high school court won’t stop her from extending her career at the next level.
Kaup, who will graduate from Fort Recovery High School in May, signed her national letter of intent Wednesday to play volleyball for the Division I Eastern Kentucky University Colonels.
“Even though I didn’t get to play this year, I still loved being part of the team,” said Kaup, who suffered a torn ACL during a preseason practice. “It’s just a fun experience.
“It was hard not playing, but I was glad because (Eastern Kentucky) still thought I would be able to play. They still believed that I would be fine after I healed.”
Fort Recovery coach Kylie Huelsman attributed that belief not only to Kaup’s skills on the court, but to her mental approach as well.
“The attitude is 100 percent beneficial for whatever team she’s going to be on,” said Huelsman. “She is positive no matter what. She went down with a huge knee injury this summer and never once did I see her give up from it.”
The Indians went 9-15 during Kaup’s junior season, but came up big with an upset of Minster in the sectional tournament. She scored a team-high 14 service points in that victory over the Wildcats and had two aces early in the deciding fifth game.
She finished the 2012 campaign with 127 digs, second on the team to then-senior Kelsey Fiely (University of Northwestern Ohio), and also had 22 aces.
She caught the eyes of Colonels’ coaching staff as she played for Grand Lake during the club season, and then continued to impress with her summer workouts.
She visited EKU over the summer and will head to Richmond, Ky., again this weekend as the newest member of the team.
“I really liked the girls,” said Kaup of her first visit. “They really seemed welcoming. And (Lori Duncan) was really nice too.”
Kaup is excited to join a squad that is 17-14 with one regular-season match remaining after upsetting Morehead State Tuesday night. With the victory, Eastern Kentucky snapped the Eagles’ 36-match Ohio Valley Conference winning streak.
She said she has enjoyed volleyball since she was young and wanted to follow in the footsteps of her cousins Joscie (Kaup) Hughes and Jackie (Kaup) Briscoe.
Hughes played at Syracuse and still holds the Orange records for career digs (2,205), digs per set (4.66), single-season digs (685) and digs in a five-set match (40).
Briscoe holds the Ohio Northern University record for aces in a match (11), and ranks in the top 10 on the school’s career list for both aces and digs.
Huelsman said she’s excited to see her defensive specialist continue her career at the collegiate level as well.
“She did a lot of hard work this summer before the injury to get better,” Huelsman said. “Obviously they saw a spark in her.”[[In-content Ad]]