Player Profile: Lauren Murphy (2018)

Matt Bigelow

September 28, 2017 @ 02:47 PM

Jackson County Central is one of the top teams in Class AA and is eyeing a deep postseason run. If the Huskies are going to do so, they'll need to continue getting high-quality play out of senior setter Lauren Murphy. Murphy, a University of Wisconsin-Platteville commit said the team has strong chemistry and is hoping to peak as section play comes up in the next couple weeks. "This team has really good chemistry," Murphy said. "I think we work really well together no matter where our coach puts us. we have a handful of good rotations that seem to work well." The Huskies had a solid showing in the Class AA showcase tournament in Burnsville, winning two matches before losing to Kenyon-Wanamingo and Maple Lake. That was a good learning experience for the team as a whole. "We played really well the first day," said Murphy. "We played Jordan and it was probably the best we've played all season. Second day didn't go as well but it's great competition." The Huskies have a Thursday match with Marshall, the top team in Section 3AA and one of the traditional state powers. No matter how that match goes, Murphy and her teammates know that the Tigers are the team to beat and if they want to get to state, they'll likely have to go through Marshall. "It’s a big game for us," said Murphy. "Marshall was a big rival for us, they left and now they are back. We have a lot of history with them. That’s the team we want to beat and we know to get to state, we’ll probably have to beat them at some point." Murphy is a top-notch setter in the 2018 class and recently committed to UW-Platteville. "I made that decision before the season started," Murphy said. "I really like the size of the school and love the coach there. The atmosphere is great. I’ll be a setter. They have a senior setter that will be graduating so there will be an opportunity to play right away."