Tyra Harper Turner Event: Volleyball: 1994-97 Profession: AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Player

Tyra Harper (later Turner) had a stellar career at UCF from 1994-97 earning first-team Trans America Athletic Conference honors three times and was named to the TAAC All-Tournament Team three times as well. She was named the TAAC Tournament MVP twice and was named TAAC Player of the Year in 1997 in addition to earning a spot on the TAAC All-Academic list. She led the team to four consecutive TAAC titles and four NCAA Tournament appearances.

Harper was named to the AVCA District Four team and was the AVCA National Player of the Week once. She set the school record for total blocks and finished second to UCF Athletics Hall of Fame member Renata Menchikova in career kills.

Turner was all-conference all four years at the University of Central Florida (first-team in 1995-97). Was AVCA all-District in 1996 and 1997 and in 1997 she was the conference Player of the Year as well as being named to the all-Academic team. Named the 1998 UCF Scholar Athlete of the Year as well as the Female Athlete of the Year. She holds the school record for blocks and is second in career kills. Her 151 consecutive matches played ranks fifth in NCAA history. She played on the U.S. National Team before brief stints with the USPV and playing in Greece in 2003. In 2004, she was inducted into the UCF Athletic Hall of Fame, which was cited in her professional bio as her greatest accomplishment.

She married fellow AVP player Chad Turner in January 2005. Upon graduation in 1998, she received a Bachelor's in Speech Language Pathology Communicative Disorders. She loves theater, especially Phantom of the Opera.

Turner had a breakout year in 2008 what was her fifth season on the beach, more than doubling her career earnings in 2007 and playing in 11 AVP semifinals, including four title matches. In addition, she and partner Rachel Wacholder won an FIVB bronze medal in the 2007 Grand Slam in Paris despite having to play in the qualifier.

Turner had a pair of fifths in just her second season on the beach (2004), earning her a full-time spot in the main draw. In 2005 she was part of the fourth-ranked team (with Makare Wilson) on the AVP Tour with two semifinal appearances and eight fifth-place finishes. In 2006 she also played on the FIVB Tour, resulting in competitions in 18 out of 19 consecutive weeks.

On the AVP Tour in 2006 Turner ranked ninth in blocks (.79 per game). In 2007, she was fifth in blocks (1.11 per game), sixth in kill percentage (.547) and 10th in aces (.65 per game).