Valerie Sterk starred in volleyball at South Christian High, was Michigan State’s first two-time All-American and played for Team USA from 1997 to 2001.
Sterk earned All-State honors at South Christian and she was part of the first recruiting class for famed Michigan State Coach Chuck Erbe.
She went on to lead the Spartans to a pair of Big Ten championships and their first-ever NCAA Final Four appearance in 1995. Her most memorable moment: The regional final rally and upset of No. 2 Hawaii at Hawaii.
The two-time All-American was a first-team All-Big Ten selection three times, which was another MSU first. She was also MSU’s Female Athlete of the Year in 1995 and won the Big Ten’s Medal of Honor Award in 1997. During the 1996 season the middle blocker led the nation with a .449 hitting percentage and also earned Academic All-American third-team status. MSU was 60-10 during her final two seasons.
While playing for the USA National Team in the Pan Am Games, World Cup and World Championships, Sterk was among the final cuts for the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, but met her husband Hunter Kemper, a four-time Olympic triathlete. She came home and was captain of the Grand Rapids Force in professional volleyball (USPV) in 2001 and ’02.
Sterk, who is also in the MSU Sports Hall of Fame, is the sister of Carla Sterk-Fles, a basketball star who is also in the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame.