Volleyball: Wadsworth's Lauren Decker plans to play at Robert Morris

WADSWORTH — The high school volleyball offseason played out perfectly for two-time Gazette MVP and Division II All-Ohio honoree Lauren Decker of Wadsworth. She qualified for the JO nationals with her NOVA club team, participated in a USA Volleyball National Team Development Program Accelerator camp and determined where she would continue her career at the next level. Decker accepted an athletic scholarship to play NCAA Division I volleyball at Robert Morris University in suburban Pittsburgh. The 5-foot-10 outside hitter will join the Colonials in Horizon League action next fall. She begins her final season with the Grizzlies tonight, when they host North Royalton. "It's a huge relief to have the recruiting process done," she said. "Now, I get to go into my senior year having fun and not having to stress about deciding which school to choose." A second-team All-Ohio selection in volleyball and girls basketball as a junior, Decker enters this fall with 1,035 kills. She needs 390 to pass Highland graduate and Northern Colorado outside hitter Alayna Tessena for second place in Medina County history. Decker also has a 3.8 grade-point average and is enrolled in the advancement to nursing program as part of the Four Cities Compact that includes Wadsworth and Barberton. The latter was a significant factor in her college selection process as she will maintain the same difficult course load in college. "Going into nursing can be very difficult with a college volleyball schedule but they embraced my goals to be a RN in college," Decker said. "They understood the importance of my academic goals, as well as my athletic ones. "I made an academic and athletic visit, and I loved the idea of being in a small school that's next to a big city, so you get the best of both worlds." Robert Morris is located in Moon Township, Pa. and has one of the most impressive college arenas in the mid-Atlantic region. The sparkling UPMC Events Center opened in 2019 and is a regular stop for national concert tours, business conventions and NCAA tournament contests. The Colonials' membership in the Horizon League was a nice fit, as well, with matches at Cleveland State, Youngstown State, Wright State, Oakland (Mich.) and Northern Kentucky all within a four-hour drive for her parents, Chris and Lynn. "The nursing and athletic facilities are all brand new, and it's two hours from home, so thankfully my family will be able to travel to my home games," Decker said. "Overall, the environment is very good and the girls on the team made me feel included. Everything told me that this program would be a perfect fit." Contact Brian Dulik at sports@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @BrianDulik on X.