Gopher Spotlight: McKenna Garr

A freshman DS/Libero, McKenna Garr comes to Minnesota as an early enrollee from Rush City, Minn. Competing for Rush City H.S. the last four years, Garr was a three-time all-state and four-time all-conference player who was named a top five finalist for the Minnesota Ms. Baden award in 2024.  In 2023, she was voted as the top libero in Minnesota High School Volleyball. In her high school career, she tallied 354 kills, 1,324 digs, 256 aces, 314 assists and 10 blocks.

GS: Take us through your background and family dynamics.
MG:  I have lived in Rush City my whole life. I have one older sister, Summer, and she's 26. She played volleyball too and she's my best friend. When I was younger she brought me everywhere with her friends. My mom Jenny played volleyball in college at UMD and Itasca. Now, she works at a gym and was a stay-at-home mom a bit for us growing up. My dad Jason works for Petco and he played baseball and basketball in college. He went to UW-Superior for school and met my mom during college.

GS: How did you first get into volleyball? Did you try other sports growing up?
MG: My sister played and she was in club for a long time before I was because she's so much older. My parents figured they would put me on a team because they were bringing me along everywhere. I've loved it every since. I tried softball because all my friends were in it, but I never really liked it. It got to be too much with volleyball anyways, so I stopped in eighth grade.

GS: When did you know you could really take volleyball somewhere?
MG: Probably my 15's year. COVID happened my 13's and 14's year and our team started to click again. I started to believe in myself even more and I just kept getting better. I knew I could play at a high level.

GS: What was it like for you getting recruited?
MG: I remember my dad coming home and telling me I got a letter in the mail. I thought it was so cool, I had no idea how the recruiting process worked. It didn't matter who it was from, it was just awesome that someone was interested in me.

GS: How did your recruitment to Minnesota go?
MG: At first I got a letter from the coaching staff and then on June 15 of my recruiting year I got a text and an email from the coaching staff. Minnesota was the first school to call me. Minnesota was my number one from the start, but of course I was looking at other schools to see what was the best fit. I have been coming to the 'U' for games since I was little, so it's always been a school I've loved. I committed late June of my junior year summer. After my first phone call, I knew that if the Gophers offered me, I was going to commit. Keegan offered me over the phone right before he went on a family trip. He told me he wanted me to think about it and talk to my family. 20 minutes later I called him and he went to his office, I committed then. I ran out of my bedroom and was jumping up and down, it was my dream for so long and it came true. I looked at my mom and she was crying. We had a big family group hug and it was a great moment for us. 

GS: Who were some of your favorite Gophers to watch growing up?
MG: I really looked up to Tori Dixon, because I used to want to be a middle so bad. My parents never told me I wasn't going to grow anymore, so I just thought I'd be a middle. One time at a camp when I was eight, she was graduating and I was nervous to talk to her at first. I was just like 'I want a picture with her' and she was so nice. I've looked up to her ever since. She didn't know it, but she set a goal for me to try to be as good as her one day.

GS: What was your club experience like?
MG: I started there when I was eight. My parents put me in the tryouts when I was eight, they didn't think I'd make the team. Sure enough, I came running up the stairs with a pink slip in my hand saying I made the team. Ever since then, I wanted to keep proving myself with the club. My 15's year we started making deeper runs with the team. Finally, our 16's year we made our deepest run ever, taking fifth at nationals. We played tournaments back-to-back and were so exhausted, but gave everything we had. Our coaches pushed us to be the best we could be.

GS: What was your favorite memory from club volleyball?
MG: Probably our game against A5 in order to get into the gold bracket at USA nationals. It was our fourth game of the day and our coach looked at us, saying they were a really good team. They were tall and had the hitters, our odds weren't good. We just went out there and played our game. We lost the first set, 26-24, then took the second, 31-29. After that, we know we had it. We won the match and dog piled at center court. All the other Northern Lights teams were there supporting us and it was just a really amazing moment.

GS: How about high school? You made three state tournaments in-a-row, what was it like playing for Rush City?
MG: There is 3,000 people in our whole town, and our graduating class had 67 people. Our teams were a lot smaller than everyone else's because the grades were so small. Our high school had never made it to state before we did it. We wanted to prove to ourselves that it could be done. The first year we made it, we won the quarterfinal game in five sets. We had a firetruck escort back into town and our city had a rally for us. Everyone was so proud, it was insane. School was out the next two days and literally the whole town came out to watch. Win or lose, they were there for us. The second year, we made the championship game and got another firetruck escort to the arena. We lost the championship but when we got home the whole town was waiting for us in the gym. I never realized how much of an impact our team had on the town.

GS: From living in a small town, has it been hard adjusting to Minneapolis?
MG: Not really. I kind of prepared myself that there would be more people, a bigger campus and I'd have to walk. There's a lot more noise than there is in my town. My biggest adjustment was needing a fan in my room so I can't hear everything going on outside.

GS: How have the first few weeks of spring ball gone? What's been the hardest part?
MG: I'd say the amount of feedback we get. Sometimes it can be overwhelming, but you just have to take it in stride and give yourself grace. The coaches can see the adjustments I need to make and are helping me. I don't like to fail, but sometimes that's what it takes to make progress. The upperclassmen have been super supportive and encouraging.

GS: What's your relationship like with the other three freshman in your 2025 class?
MG: We're all really close, ever since taking our visit together. Getting here early helped us grow closer as we're all going through this together. We're really leaning on each other and that support is huge.

GS: What have you been up to off the court with your new teammates?
MG: We love to play the Wii and XBox together. We also go out to eat, trying new places around town (Annie's Parlour is a favorite). A few of us like to go and study together at the AV as well. I brought Jordan [Taylor] home with me a couple weeks ago to meet my family and my dogs, Athena and Havoc.

GS: In high school, you played outside hitter in your last season. How has the adjustment been to playing back row only in college?
MG: I started off as a libero and then my last year I switched because that's what the team needed. I was still a libero at heart and tried to dig as many balls as I could. I let myself continue to focus on my job and do whatever was needed to help the team win.

GS: How would you give a scouting report on yourself for someone who hasn't seen you play before?
MG: I'm very energetic and I'll go for any ball. I'll do whatever it takes to keep it up. Passing is a big part of my game and I feel very calm when I'm out there.

GS: Going into the fall, what is it going to be like playing your first games at the Pav in front of family and friends?
MG: It's going to be a full circle moment. I always imagined myself playing on this floor in front of the home crowd. It's going to be a wholesome moment. Also remembering where I came from and that this was my dream. My family has had season tickets for the last five years and they'll actually get to use all the tickets now!

GS: So did you use to watch all the Gophers games on TV as well?
MG: Whenever we could. My mom would take me to the local restaurant to get food and watch. We ordered B1G+ and streamed them at home as well. If the games got super late I'd go to bed and wait for the Instagram posts to see if the team won.

GS: Where are you most looking forward to playing in your college career?
MG: Probably Wisconsin and Nebraska. The atmospheres look inside and watching on TV you can see that it's electric. I've never played on the road in front of a big crowd, so I'm really excited to experience that. Last year's home game against Wisconsin was insane, the Gopher fans were going crazy and the crowd was amazing.

GS: Where are you most looking forward to playing in your college career?
MG: Probably Wisconsin and Nebraska. The atmospheres look inside and watching on TV you can see that it's electric. I've never played on the road in front of a big crowd, so I'm really excited to experience that. Last year's home game against Wisconsin was insane, the Gopher fans were going crazy and the crowd was amazing.

GS: What are your goals for this season?
MG: I want us to be a team that you can never tell if we're winning or losing, we just look in-sync and working in unison. Obviously, we want to work towards a national championship.

GS: What's it been like working with Zeynep and Kate in practice?
MG: They're really supportive of me. If I'm not doing something right and am confused, they'll come over and help me. We all support each other through the good and bad.

GS: Outside of volleyball, what do you like to do?
MG: I like to ride horses. Our family friends have them and it's one of my favorite hobbies. I love being able to forget about everything else and ride. The trails are beautiful and it's so calm. In the cities, Mckenna [Wucherer] and I like to go to the soda shop and then play Fortnite.

Rapid Fire:
Favorite Food: Chipotle
Fun Fact: I played volleyball in Europe with my club team (Netherlands and Austria)
Favorite Sport To Watch: Hockey
Pro Sports Team: Don't Watch Pro Sports
Hidden Talent: I can sew
Favorite Vacation Spot: Huntington Beach, California
TV Shows: Gossip Girl, The Night Agent
Biggest Inspirations: My sister