By Steven Barrera and Maya Lockett
After a stellar season College of the Canyons (COC) volleyball star Grace Furgeson is set to take her talents to the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS). However her path of where to go was not always so clear though.
Coming out of Saugus High School, Grace was not sure about what she wanted to do career-wise and felt pretty lost in regards to where she wanted to play.
“I had a couple options coming out of high school but during that time I never truly took a genuine interest in the options I had,” said Grace. “It was always a goal of mine to receive a full scholarship to play and I didn’t get many coming out of high school, so that’s when I started thinking about COC.”
Her sister had also played for COC two years prior, so she had practiced with the team a couple times during the summer and she really enjoyed the environment. The head coach of the team was Clay Timmons, who happened to be her former coach at Los Angeles Volleyball Academy (LAVA).
That is when she decided COC would be a good fit.
During her two years at COC Grace managed to to be voted in as an All-American for both her freshman and sophomore year. This means the coaches throughout California saw the special talent in Grace.
Image by Cory Rubin
“Grace is easily one of the hardest workers I’ve had the pleasure of working with. She was a leader as a freshman and a captain her sophomore year, voted for by her teammates,” said Coach Timmons. “Grace will undoubtedly be successful in whatever she sets her mind to.”
Leading the team with 230 kills, along with a hitting efficiency of .429 led to multiple offers from four-year universities.
Image by Cory Rubin
“I was deciding between two very different schools but I absolutely loved both,” said Grace. “So it didn’t make it any easier, but at the end of the day I went with my gut on UCCS and am very happy with my decision.”
