Countdown to First Serve: Meet Harper Hempel
Share
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Up next in the “Getting to Know Your Wildcats” series is sophomore Harper Hempel. Hempel hails from Union, Ky., and is a sophomore.
Hempel joined the Wildcats for the spring season as a defensive specialist/setter in January. She was a four-year starter for Ryle High School in Union, Ky. Hempel was a three-time All-State performer as voted on by the KVCA. During her senior season at Ryle, she was tabbed the district MVP. Hempel was a three-year team captain and earned the team leadership award in 2011. In both her junior and senior seasons, she was awarded the Raider Award which recognizes the top overall on and off the court performance for that season.
Now it’s time to get to know Harper a little bit better …
Quick Facts
Birthplace: Florence, Ky.
Parents: Rich and Colleen Hempel
Sibling: Conner
Twitter Handle: @harperhempel
Twitter Handle: @harperhempel
Major: Marketing
Things to Know about Harper on the court …
The best part about being a UK student-athlete is … being with my teammates.
What I like most about Coach Skinner and the staff … their willingness and passion to make us the best that we can be. 
I’m most looking forward to ______ this season: winning
I chose my jersey number because … It has always been the jersey number in my family. My brother wears it for football as well.
My pre-match superstitions: falling down.
My most memorable moment as a volleyball player was … being asked to join the Kentucky volleyball team.
What you need to know about Harper off of the court …
I first started playing volleyball when I was … nine.
My favorite activity outside of volleyball is … photography.
My most prized possession is my … computer.
The favorite game to play when I was in elementary school was … hopscotch.
The one talent I wished I had … to sing well.
If I didn’t play volleyball, I’d play … basketball.
Did you know … that my grandfather played baseball at UK, and my brother is a football player for Harvard?
The best movie I saw this summer was … Mission Impossible.
Single-match and season tickets for the 2015 campaign are on sale now. Season tickets begin at $35, and single-game ticket information can be found here. More information on how to buy tickets can be found here or by calling the UK Ticket Office at 800-928-CATS.
Kentucky’s Memorial Coliseum will play host to the NCAA Regionals Dec. 11-12. UK is one of four sites selected for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight matchups with one team advancing to the Final Four in Omaha, Neb., from the Lexington Region. This marks the third time in five seasons Memorial Coliseum will host this premier volleyball event.
For the latest on the Kentucky volleyball team, follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
