OTTAWA’S OWN HARPER SCHAEFER EMBRACES HER LAST SEASON AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA
Harper Schaefer has been around the game of volleyball for a long time now.
A fierce competitor, Harper fell in love with the sport as a child here in Ottawa before heading to the east coast to pursue her dream.
Now, back in Ottawa, the Gee-Gees starting setter enters her final year – and the teams’ second season back in the OUA – looking to have fun.
uOttawa – A Full Circle Journey
Harper grew up in Ottawa, and like many of her peers, was first introduced to the game in elementary school.
“We weren’t very good,” she laughed, talking about her grade six team, but it was enough to get her interested in the sport. Entering high school at ESC Franco-Cité, she heard about their Sports-Études program, and immediately knew she wanted to play for that volleyball team.
Harper’s coach there told her about Maverick, a local volleyball club. She tried out and made the 13U girls team, then continued to play for Maverick every year throughout 18U.
In her 18U year – her last year of high school – U SPORTS teams began to show interest. She was recruited and committed to Acadia University in Wolfville, NS.
Unfortunately, she never got a chance to prove herself there. She sprained her ankle the summer before her first year. “I didn’t even get to step on the court there and perform and [earn] my spot there,” Schaefer said.
The injury – on top of homesickness – led to Harper transferring back home to uOttawa after just one season in Nova Scotia. However, it was never a given that she would play for the Gee-Gees.
“I got to play a year of intramurals, which was honestly one of the best years of my life,” Schaefer said of her second year of university. “I met some of my best friends playing there, and then Sophie, assistant coach for the women’s volleyball team, reached out to me and was like, ‘Hey, we’re actually in need of a setter. Would you like to try out for us and play?’ Ever since then, I’ve been here – it was a crazy journey,” she added.
This season at a glance
After a season of competing and learning with the Gee-Gees in 2023-24, Harper would eventually win the primary starting role for the team in 2024-25. She averaged 7.02 assists per set, leading the team to a 7-13 record – the teams’ best post-COVID campaign.
Despite the added pressure of starting, she’s maintained a consistent presence. “I don’t really think it’s ever changed my perspective,” she said. “I practice the same way now as I did then.”
“I’m more of a quiet leader,” she added. “It’s kicked in a bit of nerves, but I’m definitely working on the mental performance side of things to try and handle it. It’s all been very exciting.”
As the team heads into their second season back in the OUA – following a decade in the RSEQ – Harper said they’ve been working hard to improve in the off-season.
“It’s been a grind, just because we’ve experienced our first year in the OUA. So we know what it’s like now. It’s a lot more hard hitting volleyball. The rallies are shorter, the players are much taller,” Schaefer said. “We’ve been working so so hard this summer.”
The team itself will look similar to last year, with the only graduate being setter Max Langevin. “I love her so much, and I miss her dearly,” Schaefer said when asked about her departure.
“[But] it has been cool to keep all our hitters, […] it’s been more tweaking the details of things as opposed to starting from scratch,” she said, when asked about the benefits of keeping a team together from year to year.
Harper will also have new rookies to play alongside this year. A recruiting class largely composed of outside hitters can be challenging for a setter, but Harper’s not worried. “I think we’ve already found our cohesion, and we’re only four weeks into our preseason here,” she said.
Inside the mind of a varsity athlete
Balancing academics, athletics, and life as a university student-athlete can be a gauntlet.
“I think into my fifth year now, balancing my schedule has been a lot easier than it was in my first year,” Schaefer said. “Obviously it was quite a big change for me.”
“My support system has been the biggest help in all of this; we have such an amazing coaching staff and other resources available to us, like mental performance coaches”, she said when asked about how she’s managed.
Harper mentioned assistant coach Christina Grail as a key piece of her on-court development. Grail specializes in setter development and team offence, so naturally she and Schaefer are in constant communication. Harper said that she’s seen Grail as her biggest role model through her setting journey, and that Grail’s perspective on the game has been captivating and motivating.
She also credits her family heavily; “I always try to make time for spending time [with them],” she said. “I’m lucky enough to be in Ottawa, so my parents are in town, and seeing them as much as possible is really important to me.”
A Health Sciences student, Harper is interested in health technology, and said she wants to get into hospitals to assess health technologies after graduating.
“I definitely want to continue playing volleyball [though], whether it’s competitively or just for fun,” she added. “I’ve worked so hard in this sport, I couldn’t just let it go like that.”
How to watch
Heading into her last year, Schaefer said she’s most looking forward to competing with the team. “There’s something about being on the big stage that’s just so fun and invigorating. So competing with my best friends is what I’m looking forward to the most,” she concluded.
Harper and the Gee-Gees commenced their annual Pre-Season Classic in Ottawa at Montpetit Hall this past weekend from Oct. 3-5.
Their regular season kicks off on Oct. 24th, when they host the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. All matches are streamed live on OUA.tv, while tickets to every home game are available here.
