(upbeat music) (upbeat music) - [Sarah] The most succinct way that I could describe Vada is that he was just this fierce, intense personality, but at the same time, like just a real softy and a really loving family man.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] In the late 1980s, Vada Murray wore number 27 for the Michigan Wolverines.

As a safety for the great head football coach, Bo Schembechler.

- [Sarah] Playing for Bo changed his life.

The things that Bo instilled in him were the things that Vada, it's the way that Vada lived his life.

Not just in being punctual, but being disciplined.

You know, working hard and fighting for something that you believe, you know, being disciplined in every aspect of your life.

(gentle music) - [Harper[ I am from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and my sister, my brother and I all lived there with my mom and my dad.

I loved growing up there.

(gentle music) - [Sarah] When Harper was three, her sister was six and her brother was nine.

She just kind of grew up having to be a little spitfire and not just to keep up with them, but in order for them to let her hang with them, (gentle music) and she wasn't gonna be left behind by either one of them.

We went from, you know, just probably your average family, living your life, working hard jobs that we both liked, raising kids, you know, to suddenly we were just kind of thrust into this (gentle music) crisis.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] In 2009, Harper's father, Vada Murray, was diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer, a terminal diagnosis.

(gentle music) - [Sarah] So we spent the next couple years trying to find a treatment that would stop the growth and relieve his pain and that, you know, meant several clinical trials in different hospitals and different oncology protocols, but nothing ever really worked.

(gentle music) It turned things upside down very, very quickly.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] On April 6th, 2011, Vada Murray lost his fight following a two year battle with cancer.

- [JohnÑ I spent a lot of time with her and her mom in the recruiting process.

He was a big part of their lives, and you can tell being around them that you see all the memories.

- [Harper] In honor of my dad.

I love to wear the number.

My sister wears it at Michigan.

It's our way of honoring him, and I actually have a tattoo on my finger for him too.

It's 27.

(gentle music) Every time I step on the court, I play for him.

- [Sarah] I'm fighting this lump in my throat all the time at the start of matches, at the end of matches.

I cried during the match in Memorial Stadium.

I was unexpectedly emotional.

(dramatic music) - [John] I think there's a definite deep motivation in her why, why she plays volleyball and why she wants to be great.

I think she still wants to show her dad that she can do that.

(gentle music) - [Harper] It's shaped all me and my sister and my brother into the people we are.

(crowd cheering) (upbeat music) - [Sarah] I mean, I'm already beaming with pride, but to see both of them out there at the same time, really meaningful event for my whole family.

(upbeat music) It's hard for me to not watch these matches and see them with that jersey on and see how they resemble him so much physically.

(upbeat music) You know, it's hard for me to not think about how much he'd love watching them, (upbeat music) and I think he'd just be bursting with pride.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music)