Behind the Hawk: Lauren Carter

Few first-year athletes enter Wilfrid Laurier University with the type of résumé rookie-setter Lauren Carter has put together. She is the former captain of the National Capitals U18 volleyball club and was the winner of the prestigious Evilyn Holick award, the highest honour a female player can win in the Ontario Volleyball Association (OVA).

She was also selected as one of the members of Team Ontario this summer.
Despite her past success, Carter is still going through the same transition period as every other rookie. She may not have the same leadership role as she did in the past, but that doesn’t seem to bother her at all.

“I am a student of the game and I love having the opportunity to learn and get a lot of different feedback from coach Snider and everyone else on the team,” said Carter.
Carter is one of six rookies on a team that is having a tough season, having lost eight of their last nine games.

“It’s hard when everyone is working so hard and the wins just aren’t coming,” said Carter.
“I don’t think our record reflects our talent level because we lost a lot of close five set matches to top teams.”

Outside of volleyball, Carter enjoys spending time with her friends and family and also loves skiing and snowboarding, although she admits that she doesn’t get to the hill as often as she used to in her hometown of Ottawa.

Carter doesn’t have a lot of free time these days, as she has a full class schedule along with daily practices and training sessions in the gym.

“The transition has been tough but I am really loving my time here at Laurier so far.”
Carter chose to come to Laurier after visiting for a weekend on a recruiting trip. She was shown around by some former members of the volleyball team and remembers this experience fondly.

“I really liked how close-knit the school seemed,” she said. “Everything was so close and everyone seemed so friendly. Also the coaching staff was amazing.”