On Friday, Nov. 18, 2016, Hatboro-Horsham senior Holly Owen was recognized for signing a letter of intent to continue her volleyball career at Kutztown University. To view photos of the event, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Holly Owen – Kutztown University (Volleyball)
Major: Psychology
Final list of colleges: Kutztown, Holy Family, Millersville, Moravian
Reasons for choosing Kutztown: “I really enjoyed the school. The coach was unbelievably nice, and when I went for a visit, the girls were so welcoming. You felt like you belonged there. I really liked the campus – the campus is very pretty.”
What was the progression that led you to playing volleyball at the collegiate level? “My 16’s year of club I realized it wasn’t too far of a stretch – I could do it, and it made me really excited. That’s when I first realized that was my goal.”
Coach Jon Young says: “I’ve been coaching Holly for four years. When I was on jayvee, she was on jayvee, and when I moved up to varsity, she was on varsity. It was an interesting transition. What I know about Holly is different than what most people know. She’s been through a lot in four years, and it speaks a lot to her character to have gone through all of that and still be the type of player that she is.
“Most people look at her, and they think 650 kills in two years, they think blocks, aces. I don’t really see that. I see someone that is extremely empathetic to the point that most of you probably wouldn’t recognize. The thing that she does better than anybody else that I’ve seen in a long time is she builds relationships in our program better than most kids out there. I can give example upon example, but when new kids come in, she is the first to reach out to them. She’s builds great relationships with them, and in some cases, it’s needed. These kids feel extremely valuable because of what Holly does. I know she has a strong personality, and I know if she doesn’t like something, you will be the first to know, but empathy is something I wish I was as good at as Holly. We’ll miss her on the court, but for me, as a coach, the thing I will miss most is – she’s a program builder. We talk a ton about culture, we talk a bunch about integrity and doing things the right way and making people feel like this is the best experience they have in high school. We’re going to do some amazing things in the next five years, and a lot of it comes down to this senior class, and a lot of that is on Holly’s shoulders. We will miss her very much. I’m sure she’ll do some amazing things in college.”
About Holly:
Favorite food: Buffalo Chicken Dip
Favorite movie: Safe Haven
Favorite music: Pop
- Log in to post comments
