The Harper Connection

When Miami senior Gaby Harper walks in next month's commencement ceremonies and officially earns her degree, Miami freshman Lydia Harper will be in the crowd cheering on her sister.

When Miami early childhood education major Gaby Harper enters the workforce this year and takes over an elementary classroom of her own, Miami early childhood education major Lydia Harper will be paying attention and taking notes, knowing her turn is coming.

And when Miami outside hitter Gaby Harper recorded the 1,000th kill of her college career in a November 2021 comeback win at Kent State, Miami setter Lydia Harper had the best view in the building.

That's because Lydia was the RedHawk earning an assist on the play.

"It was a big moment," Lydia said. "We did it. We made it. It was that final resolution.

"We were at the end of the road together, but she finally hit that mark."

And what a journey it's been. The two siblings have thoroughly enjoyed playing volleyball together as teammates in the 2021 season for the second time, after doing the same thing as a high school senior and freshman at Caledonia (Mich.).

"It's something that's really special," Gaby said. "It hadn't really happened at our high school before, to have two sisters…then we were hoping to do it in college, but didn't really know if it was going to happen.

"It's fun because she was setting me up for everything, like she does here. Our parents always say it was good that we were different positions…we were able to branch out and do different things and mesh, and we have the same kind of mentality when it comes to the game."

Although Gaby and Lydia played different spots on the floor, they still were often mistaken for each other. That became problematic when high school referees would incorrectly whistle a violation for being in the improper row because they were looking at the wrong person! (Nothing a different hairstyle or headband color couldn't fix, though.)

"They have a great connection," said head coach Carolyn Condit of the siblings' on-court chemistry. "They obviously know each other really well and they enjoy playing with each other."

Both players are over six feet tall, which makes Lydia --the taller of the two-- unique among most setters in college volleyball. "It definitely has its advantages in the game," she said. The freshman's height allows her to connect easier with the hitters she's setting, and also gives her a perfect angle to dump the ball straight down over the net to try and steal a point.

More often than not, though, Lydia is setting up Gaby. It paid off last fall, as the senior became just the ninth player in school history to accumulate both 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. The elder Harper was two kills away from the milestone and dealing with a significant injury heading into the final matches of the season, but she persevered to finish the campaign and etch her name in the program's record books.

"You can't stop her kills," Lydia said. "She's the person that really makes a team bleed, point-wise. There's not really much you can do to slow her down."

"From the moment I first saw Gaby, she always, always worked hard," said Condit. "You don't achieve those numbers without working like crazy, especially on defense!

"Everyone loves to hit, and defense is a harder part of the game, because it's more difficult to find those digs...her mentality was so aggressive as an attacker that I think it carried over to her defense."

And while Gaby's career wearing the Red and White has come to a close, Lydia's is still just getting started, which gives Miami Volleyball fans plenty of reason to be excited for the next few years of action in Millett Hall.

"Lydia has such a control for the game," said Gaby. "Her IQ is higher than a lot of players, especially in her position. She sees the court from a whole different realm. She can throw balls to corners over her head and know it's open before anyone else on the court…

"I feel like she's always one step ahead of everyone else."

Away from the gym, the two sisters are close friends, sharing their love of music, long car rides, their mother's cooking and literally every movie in the Marvel universe. They also share similar career aspirations, with the goal of influencing young children as elementary teachers post-graduation.

"When I saw her at Miami wanting to be a teacher, [I started] looking back on my childhood: All the teachers I had really shaped me into who I was," Lydia said.

"They taught me so many things that I always think about when I'm doing things even today. It made me realize how big an impact I can have as a teacher on young kids as they grow up."

Gaby is finishing up her student teaching this semester, so she has had recent first-hand experience day-in and day-out of what classroom life might be like next year. "It gives you the realistic view," she explained. "There's going to be good sides and bad sides; I'd rather go into something knowing the full truth.

"It's going to be a whole realm of challenges, but I've really enjoyed it so far."

Both sisters said being younger teachers will help make it easy to connect with and relate to grade-school students. "Oh my goodness, we're doing TikToks in the classroom," Gaby laughed.

And while one Harper may end up being the 'fun teacher' (Lydia) with the other more of a 'mother figure' (Gaby), both future educators have demonstrated the type of empathy and care it takes to effectively serve and assist students. (Volleyball puns intended.)

"I think Gaby will be that teacher that's always willing to stay after and help a kid out," said Lydia. "She'll always just love on her kids, even more than she is required to."

"I think you have to have patience with young children, and that gives them both patience with their peers," Condit added. "I think that's important for a setter [Lydia] and as a captain [Gaby], and I can see that carrying over.

"And they really enjoy people. They're always so supportive of teammates. You can just see it with the high fives, the smiles: they're willing to share credit…I think when you're unselfish and you're patient, you're a great person to start with, and then when you're raised as a competitor and have some good coaches in the past, that also helps."

While Gaby moves on to the workforce next year, Lydia will be in Oxford, chasing a MAC championship and continuing to build on the tradition of Miami Volleyball that Gaby and the rest of the senior class leave behind (including a pair of MAC East titles in 2018 and 2019).

"That's our focus, that's our drive every year," Gaby said. "Every time we get better, it's one more step closer to getting another championship. If it doesn't happen one year, then that's one more step closer that we are to getting one next season." Gaby Harper and Lydia Harper

"I want to win the next three MAC championships," Lydia said simply. "We didn't win this past one, but it's that forward mindset…winning the next three. Whatever it takes."

The 2022 RedHawks just finished their spring season of scrimmages, and while Gaby is still getting used to being a spectator and not a starter, she likes what she's seeing from her former teammates.

"A lot of the girls are getting new opportunities," said Gaby. "There are a lot of new, fresh faces on the court.

"It's good to see how they're able to step into those shoes and start to develop their own game."

Lydia is confident in the foundation her sister and the rest of the 2022 graduates have established and is excited about the RedHawks' future.

"I started thinking about when I left my high school program: What did I leave behind for them to build off?", Lydia said. "Looking at this past season, it didn't necessarily go the way we wanted, but our seniors left behind a lot of building blocks that are the core of what we need to be a winning team. I think Gaby, Sophie [Riemersma] and Jen [Schulze] created something that's really special.

"Not only with teaching us, but they cared for us in a way that even though we couldn't get it done in the end to get a championship, we knew they cared and we knew they were always fighting for us…

"At the end of the day, we're all teammates, we're all friends, we're all going to support each other, and each and every one of us have what it takes to be a MAC champion."

Teammates now, teachers later, and (hopefully for Miami Volleyball) a passing of the torch from one graduating champion to a future graduating champion.

That's the Harper connection…and it's a marvelous one.

Find more Front Row Features at MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures.

Players Mentioned

Gaby Harper

Lydia Harper

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