Colony senior to play volleyball at Western Oregon

PALMER — Sophie Hall’s initial search for a school to attend and volleyball program to play for included mainly junior colleges. But that was until a Division II university came looking for her.

Now, the Colony High School senior has a new home for the next four years.

Earlier this week, Hall signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Western Oregon University and play volleyball for the Wolves.

Hall, a 6-foot middle hitter, said WOU coaches first saw her at a showcase event in Las Vegas.

“I went down to Las Vegas and the school ended up finding me,” she said.

Hall was already on a trip in the Lower 48 when she got the call for a WOU coach.

“We extended the trip to take a look at the school. I was surprised. Originally, I wasn’t even looking at Division II. For them to find me, pick me, it’s awesome,” Hall said.

Hall also gets the added bonus of playing for a school that shares a conference with UAA and UAF. That means Hall and the Wolves will make at least one trip each year to her home state to play the Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals.

“I’m super excited about that,” Hall said of the chance to play the Seawolves. “I have some friends signing with UAA, so we’ll be playing against each other.”

Hall, who has been playing volleyball since the sixth grade, also spent one year with the Midnight Sun Volleyball Club. As a senior at Colony High, Hall was named first-team All-Northern Lights Conference. She also helped the Knights place third in the NLC championships and advance to the 4A state tournament.

Hall said she’s briefly talked with her new coaches about her role in the program early in her career, but is unsure whether she’ll redshirt during her first year with the Wolves.

“I’d be fine either way. Redshirting would be nice too. It gives me that time to practice and get a hang of the fast pace, and get more comfortable,” Hall said.

Hall plans to study business and marketing while at WOU.