By John RittenhouseA combination of athleticism and a desire to succeed turned Hills-Beaver Creek senior Erin Boeve into one of Minnesota’s best high school volleyball players in recent years.Those same qualities have opened a door for Boeve’s future.On Nov. 12, in the office of H-BC Activities Director Steve Wiertzema, Boeve signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at Iowa State University in Ames on an athletic scholarship.Boeve had made the decision to become an ISU Cyclone member months before, but she made it official with her signature last week.“I actually verbally committed to ISU last May,” Boeve admitted. “It just seems like it’s a good fit for me. Probably the biggest reason I chose Iowa State was the coaching staff. I also got along really well with the players when I visited there.”In Boeve, the Cyclones landed a player who dominated a lot of matches during her high school days.Boeve began playing varsity ball on a limited basis as an eighth-grader. She earned a starting position in the H-BC program as a freshman and kept it for four consecutive seasons.A key member of H-BC’s 2003 team that won the school’s first South Section 3A championship, Boeve compiled 1,547 kills, 663 blocks and served 165 aces during a high school career that ended with a five-game loss to Minneota in the Section 3A championship match.Although Boeve was disappointed that H-BC lost the final two games of the Minneota match, she doesn’t dwell on the possible state berth that slipped away when she remembers her high school days.“I thought we had that match,” Boeve said. “That’s why volleyball is such a dumb game. It’s a game of momentum. Still, this season was a lot of fun. It was a good way to end my high school career.”When H-BC coach Curt Doornweeerd remembers Boeve, he recalls an all-around good athlete who always played hard and possessed an ability to intimidate the opposing players on the other side of the net.“It was unbelievable what she was able to do to some teams,” he said. “She would get into the heads of their players right away, and they didn’t stand a chance the rest of the match. Her size (6-2) and athleticism is a plus, but she also has an outstanding mental ability that includes her wanting to go out on the court and play well every night.”Boeve’s next challenge will be to prove she can play volleyball at a Division 1 level.She never considered herself to be a Division 1 prospect until she joined the Southwest Minnesota Juniors, an elite volleyball team formed by select area players based out of Southwest State University in Marshall.Members of the SMJ team displayed their talents in front of college coaches during play in the spring and summer months, and Boeve drew more than her fair share of attention.“Playing with that junior volleyball team gave me a lot of options,” she said. “I ended up being recruited by more than 100 colleges. It was a little overwhelming.”Being pursued by schools from coast to coast can be an eye-opening experience for a teenager, but Boeve handled the situation well.The allure of attending big-name colleges on the East and West Coasts can be attractive to some, but Boeve made a more mature, practical choice by selecting ISU.“I wanted to stay closer to home,” she said. “Ames is a four-hour drive from here, and now my parents can come to my matches.”Erin said following in the footsteps of her older sister, Tara, never was a part of the college-selection equation.Tara Boeve, and standout player at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, always told Erin that the institution in South Dakota wasn’t big enough for her sister.“I never really considered Augustana,” Erin said. “It wasn’t like my heart was set on going to a Division 1 school. I wasn’t being heavily recruited by Division 2 schools. The Division 1 thing just worked out that way.”Boeve will move to Ames in late July next year in order to get settled in by the start of practice Aug. 6.She is unsure what type of impact she’ll make on the ISU program as a freshman.Her high school coach, however, thinks Boeve’s approach to the game will lead to a successful first season and career at ISU.“Personally, I have never seen anyone who plays like Erin does before,” Doorneweerd said. “I’ve seen girls that can block, girls that can spike, girls that can serve and girls that can play the back row. What I haven’t seen is a girl who can do all of those things at a high level like Erin can. With her work ethic, she’ll do whatever it takes to get on the floor at Iowa State. Once she does get on the floor, she’ll work just as hard to stay on the floor.”
