It all started 12 years ago on a Sunday afternoon. I can still remember my mom coming home and asking me if I wanted to try out for volleyball. I had no idea what volleyball was but when my mom told me my cousin played I couldn’t have been more excited to try out. I never would have imagined that my very first serve—an underhand serve that went straight up and almost hit the ceiling—would lead me to all that I have accomplished today. This sport has been such a significant part of my life for so long. From weekend tournaments to locker room jam sessions to my unicorn buddies I have created so many memories and developed many skills that have made me who I am today.
I want to thank all of my past coaches and teammates for impacting my career. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for all of you. I had the wonderful opportunity to play with two of my cousins my senior year both of whom pushed me to become a better player. I want to thank Kaitlyn Keefe for spending so many summer days in the gym and weight room with me. You have always been one of my biggest motivators and I can’t tell you how much it means that you are still one of my biggest fans! I also want to thank Patti Obey for being a huge supporter of everything I have chosen to do in my life. You are one of the main reasons why I decided to attend Saint Mary’s and continue playing volleyball. I am also thankful for your boys who have pushed me to become a better athlete. I think the three of us are the clearly define what it means to be gym rats.
It seems unreal that I first stepped onto this campus for pre-season four years ago. I have had the opportunity to be apart of a team that is so unbelievably close that we are more of a family than a team. I’m thankful for the “upperclassmen” that showed me the ropes my first few years. T, Carol, Pam, Jess and Court—I learned so much from each one of you. You are all so very talented. I will always have memories of Greece, pocket snacks, stuttering, pixie sticks and fleas thanks to all of you. To my other former teammates, the “seven” who I always considered myself a part of—I can’t imagine what my life would be like without each one of you. You are all phenomenal athletes. I am so happy to have gotten to know you so well. You all encouraged me to work hard and pushed and supported me to be a better player. Welly: I always admired your work ethic and your positive attitude. I looked forward to the Welly Train and Michael every match! Rach: You are one of the sweetest people I know. I could talk to you for hours about anything and you are an amazing setter. Mate: You are such a powerful hitter and an amazing friend. I had so many good times with you over the years. Linds: You have always been a huge motivator for me on and off the court. You were the first person on this team to take me under your wing and show me the ropes. I think you and I could laugh for hours at things that no one else would understand. Harstad: I can honestly say that I don’t know where I would be without you. I’m so happy to have gotten the opportunity to play with you all through high school as well as three seasons at SMU. You and I have so much in common. I love that we are still and always will be very close friends. Gardner: Every match I was thankful that you were on my side of the court and not across the net. I think I have permanent bruises from you. You challenged me as an athlete making me better every day whether you were smoking top spin serves at me, smashing balls down the line or playing tip pepper with me and making me dive all over. You are truly one of my very best friends and I have so many memories with you. I’m so glad you are still in Winona this year. B: I can’t imagine where I would be without you. You were such a motivated and dedicated athlete. You are so smart and talented. I have always looked up to you and you have always been there for me as a teammate and as a friend. You know more about me then I know about myself. You have taught me how to be a leader and how to be a friend. I can’t thank you enough for everything you have done for me.
To my current teammates—Carissa, Cat and Marge: You three have come so far and have so much talent. I have enjoyed getting to know each of you over the years. Cat and Meg I’m glad we are now teammates and not high school rivals although I’ll always remember Meg as “the girl that flipped over the fence in the section softball game.” Brina and Tara: You two are my other “2/3rds.” We have so much fun together and I know I can always be my crazy self around you. Brina you hit the ball harder than anyone I know and you have some amazing hops! I can always count on you to push me through tough workouts and practices. Tara you have been my biggest supporter and my biggest motivator on the court. You always get excited at my success and you are standing right next to me encouraging me when I struggle. I couldn’t do it without those endorphin hand shakes! I’m going to miss those so much next year. Buns and Lex: You have both improved so much in just one year. I can’t wait to see where you go from here. I am so happy to have gotten to know you both. Bunne you have always understood my sense of humor and I think I get yours most of the time too..I appreciate that ;) haha. To my “sassy” freshmen: Each one of you has brought so much to this team and I wish I had the opportunity to be a part of your future career. You will do great things on and off the court. I wish you all luck in teaching Kara the Minnesota ways, putting up with Molly’s dolly song, keeping Janae away from your food, making Mary mad, keeping Megan quiet and getting Jenna off her computer.
To my fellow senior—Amy: We have been through so much together. I have so many great memories including the NCAA tournament, Boston, Greece, uncountable tournaments, pre-seasons and so much more. I can’t believe it’s been four years since we were jumping out of our skin waiting to be told that we made the team. You are one of the hardest working people I know and it has been such a pleasure to make this journey with you. You have always been a huge support for me. I wish you luck in the future and I know you will make an amazing teacher. I know that we will always be close friends and since I still have yet to see the inside of the tree house I will be making a trip to RF sometime (and for Barb’s cooking of course). I also want to thank your family for being so supportive. I love getting hugs from Barb at the end of matches even though I’m drenched in sweat. You are an amazing family and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to get to know you all!
The support of the fans at Saint Mary’s has been outstanding. I want to especially thank the men’s basketball team. We love your signs and Pat Freeman’s white board. You guys bring so much excitement and energy to our home matches. We appreciate every one of you! I also want to thank Coco, Britt, Courty, Court, Kait (Rik Patrick fan club?) and the rest of the women’s basketball team for all of their support. You are some rowdy fans too! Thank you to all of the other students, friends, athletes and WETD for supporting me and our team over the years. You have all been amazing.
I would like to thank all of the faculty and staff at Saint Mary’s for everything they have done for me and for the volleyball team. A special thanks to Jamie for coming in early to help us train. We loved your jokes even if it took some of us ten minutes to get them. I also want to thank the Athletic Training staff and especially Bill for putting up with me over the last four years. I promise I’m not mad at you for making me run for 20 minutes. I really do understand. Thanks for taping my ankles, hands, hips and blisters. I know you’re going to miss my etch-a-sketch masterpieces and my talents on the big green ball. I’ll come back and visit! I also want to thank Ashley and Rohde for all the time they have put into our team. Rohdes-you make everything more interesting and you have given me a lot of great tips. You are very motivational and I am glad that I had the opportunity to get to know you. Coach and Tessa—I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this team. This team has changed me so much as a person. You have both encouraged me to be successful on and off the court. I can’t thank you enough for all that you have both done for me. Tessa: You have always been extremely supportive of me. You helped me transform from the quiet little freshmen to the loud mouth senior that I am today. You have given me the confidence, motivation and desire to be successful. I look up to you as a coach and as a person. I also want to thank you for the many hours you spent tutoring me through physics. I may have failed without you! I can’t wait to meet baby Wagnild! Thank you again for all that you have done for me. Coach: First of all I want to say thanks for not killing me when I showed up to camp with a cast on my hand this summer. I told you everything would turn out ok! I also want to thank you for giving the scrawny little outside hitter a chance to be a part of this team although I definitely agree that I fit in much better with “the little ones” than the hitters! I have learned so much from you over these past four years and I know that because of you I have grown as a person. Your passion and knowledge of this game are incredible and I feel honored to have been apart of Saint Mary’s Volleyball. I wish you and the rest of my teammates the best of luck in the coming years. I have experienced some of the greatest things thus far in my life as a part of this team.
I would also like to thank the people that I really feel have gotten me to where I am today. Those people are my family. Without you I don’t know where I would be. I have the most supportive grandparents a girl could possibly ask for. I want to thank the four of you for coming to so many of my games. You have no idea what it means to me to see you in the crowd decked out in red cheering me on whether we win or lose. I also want to thank my aunts and uncles especially my aunts Dayna and Chari who have been so supportive throughout my career. You two have been very influential people in my athletic career. You have always been so supportive and have taught me that I can accomplish anything in my life. I look up to you both and love seeing you and your families at my games. I also want to thank Kiel and Jae for coming to my games and cheering me on. I love you two so much. You are like sisters to me and I can’t wait to watch you two in the future. A special thanks to my siblings for supporting me and putting up with mom and dad being gone every weekend to come watch me. You three are amazing. AJ: I have always looked up to you. I suppose I have you to thank for beating me up all those years and making me a “tough girl.” Mel: I’m so glad you are at SMU this year and I love seeing you at my matches. You have always been a huge support and we have always shared a love for volleyball. Dre: Thanks for spending so much time playing volleyball with me and Mel in the driveway. You’re getting better but I think you should stick to football ?. You are an outstanding athlete and even though I’m still stronger, you have motivated me to become a better athlete through your hard work. I love all three of you! The two people that I want to thank the most are my mom and dad. You two have been so incredibly supportive of me. You have both taught me that I can do anything if I set my mind to it. You have spent so much time over the past 12 years driving me to tournaments and watching me play. I can probably count on one hand the number of matches you have missed in my college career. Mom: You have always been there for me no matter what. You have taught me to be strong and to never give up. You have taught me to work hard for the things that I want in my life. You are my best friend and have always been my emotional stability. I admire all that you have accomplished and all that you have done for me. You have been a huge influence on my volleyball career. Thanks getting me started, coaching me, and sitting in the stands being nervous every time I serve! I know the one thing you won’t miss is worrying about my knees, ankles, broken hand, and massive bruises/floor burns on my hip! Dad: I don’t even know where to start. You have definitely been the greatest influence on my athletic career. You have given me so many opportunities and supported me through everything. I know you used to dread watching volleyball back in the day, but you have become my biggest fan. We could talk volleyball for hours even if we have to relate everything to football or softball to make a point. You provided me with the tools I needed to be successful. Thank you for unlimited access to the weight room. You spent countless hours lifting with me. I still remember the first day you threw what seemed like 200lbs on the squat rack and told me to squat it until I touched the chair. From that day on I was hooked. You pushed me to work hard and never give up. I’m going to miss our summer evenings in the gym just you, me and that garbage can we used as a target. I’ll admit that you’ve gotten to be a pretty good server over the years. There are so many things that you have told me throughout my athletic career that have stuck with me. During every national anthem I think to myself “this is the only time during this game that I can stand straight and not have my knees bent.” You’ve given me so many pep talks and I love that you are not only there for me through my struggles but I can also see how proud you are of my successes. You have been my trainer, my coach, my motivator, my mentor, my biggest fan, but most importantly you have been my dad and I love you for all that you have done for me. I truly have amazing parents that have allowed me to accomplish the things I have today and have pushed me to strive for bigger and better things everyday.
Saint Mary’s Volleyball has been a huge part of my life the past four years and the impact that this team has made on me will last forever. I’m going to miss the every aspect of this game from the nervous feeling I still get before every match to the excitement of my teammates after a kill. Thank you to all the people who have been a part of my four years here at Saint Mary’s. |
