Wow, I can’t believe I’m a senior and writing my senior salute. It truly has been a great four years. Volleyball has taught me so much and I am thankful to have played on such a great team. I am also thankful for everyone who has gotten me to the point I am today. As a 7th grade setter I was told by a coach that I was too short and would never set in high school. Well look at me now: an outside hitter and captain on the Saint Mary's University. Granted I’ve grown a few inches since then it has taught me to never let anyone get you down and if someone doubts you, prove them wrong.
My parents have been extremely supportive throughout my journey here at Saint Mary's and everything I ever do. No matter what they are always there. I’m not sure how you guys do it, but you always know exactly what to say. You were both always telling me how proud you were of me and that I can do anything. Mom- I truly don’t think you missed a game well other than Boston and Italy. And I know you feel terrible you weren’t there. So I’m sorry for bringing it up again. Dad- You were at every home game and I appreciated it just as much. I love you both so much and I am so lucky to have parents that are so dedicated to my success. I don’t know where I would be without you. I cannot thank you enough. Also thank you for bringing Jaidyn when you could. ?
Grandma, I am so glad that you have been able to make it to so many of my games. In high school, I remember coming to your house seeing all of your newspaper articles cut out and hung up and how proud you were of me. Thank you for supporting me and always giving me hugs and kisses. I know I am not only speaking for myself, but the whole team when I say that we all get excited when we see your smiling face at our games. I love you. Xoxo
My sisters- Thank you for being so supportive. You two were always there for me pushing me to be my best and letting me know when I wasn’t quite there. It’s okay though, I know you were always proud of me.
To all of our fans, thank you for coming and supporting us! It means so much to all of us! We love looking out into the crowd and knowing that everyone probably has some type of homework or something they could be doing, but instead are here cheering us on.
Lexi and Nicole- You two are amazing! You have always been so supportive and listened to us talk volleyball even when you probably didn’t really want to. You stuck with us through the good and bad. I knew I could always count on you being there after the game to talk to. Also playing volleyball, whether it was intramurals, sand volleyball or even the Hill City mud volleyball tournament, with you two has been so much fun! Also Nicole thank you for always letting me play on your league team!
Coco- whooo, you have been a great fan! You are always there to wish us a happy game day and right there to cheer us on. You have not only been a fan, but also involved in the game action as both a ball girl and line judge. You did an amazing job at both! Also, I hope I wore you’re #11 proud ?
The Cross-Country boys- You were probably our loudest fans. We loved all your school spirit, especially the painted chests. I’m sorry we couldn’t make it to more of your meets, but know we were always cheering for you.
Our soccer boys- Bina, Eric, Puff, and Meyer (Colin too) thank you for coming to as many of our games as you could! I know it is hard when our sports are during the same season, but you tried to make as many as you could. Also thanks for always playing on our intramural volleyball teams!
Pat Freeman and the basketball boys- Thank you for all the signs and always having something creative of that white board of yours! It always got us pumped up.
Tom- You have been a big part of this journey the past two years. You were always so encouraging and gave me the confidence I needed to get to where I am today. You never let me give up on myself even when I may have wanted to. Thank you for always listening to me. It didn’t matter if I was complaining or excited about something you were always there. You also knew exactly what to say to make me feel better when I would get discouraged. Thank you for pushing me to be the best I could be!
To all my coaches: thank you for every opportunity you have given me! I wouldn’t be where I am in my volleyball career without you.
My high school coach, Tara Biever, I was lucky to have you for four years as my B-squad coach and then varsity. Volleyball was always fun and you made sure that we had SPK’s as an incentive. One of my favorite volleyball moments is my junior year playing Mabel Canton in playoffs after getting a lower than expected seed and beating them in their home gym! Still gives me the chills.
Tessa- I miss you and hope all is going well with Ross and the baby! There is no one here to tell us how silly and un-athletic we look when someone wears a sparkly headband or a bow. Thank you for always pushing me to be better. I know sometimes I might not have loved hearing it, but I knew it was because you knew I could handle it. I mean, I could handle it most the time.
Ashley- You always recognized the little things that we needed to change in order to be a better player. Also, you’re an amazing player! I know it was frustrating being on the opposite side of you when you blocked everything back in our faces.
Jenna- I know I only got to spend a year with you, but I have really enjoyed getting to know you! It’s nice having a coach who is so close to our age and can relate to what we’re going through. I also am thankful for all your small critiques of what I should be doing with my arm swing. Even though most of the time it was to open my hand. And I still haven’t quite figured that one out, I guess I just like to hit with my mitten hand and make my swing look like a serve. Also, thanks for getting me hooked on doing this peace sign thing with my fingers whenever I talk. ?
Rhode- You were always so encouraging and I knew you truly believed in me. I loved when you got to play in the drills we were doing because you always found a way to challenge us. You were the one to teach me how to use the block to get a kill and I always got excited when I would get a kill against you. I mean let’s face it, you’re like 6’8 and I’m like 5’6. I hope we can keep in touch via the social networks. Also I’m sorry sometimes I was so bad at keeping you updated through twitter. I hope you forgive me!
Coach- Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this team. I have enjoyed every minute of it and I know I wouldn’t be here without you. It’s got to be hard being surrounded by all of us girls all the time, but you handle it so well. You always seemed to know how to coach each individual player. You believed in us and wanted us to be the best that we could be!
To our trainer Bill, thank you so much for everything you do! You are the reason that we all are able to keep up with the stress that volleyball puts on our body! I can say that you have made me experience the greatest pain I have ever felt in my life while you were rolling out the knots in my muscles. I know I was about in tears, but it was all worth it. Also, remember the time you got lost in Boston? ?
As a freshman coming in I had no idea what to expect, but I was greeted with open arms. I have my prior upper classmen to thank for that. I was so lucky to come into such an amazing team. And to make the NCAA tournament my freshman year is a moment that I will never forget. I can still picture us all sitting in that room waiting to hear our name to be announced and jumping up and down once it was! Brittany, thank you so much for everything you did for me. You took me under your wing and were always so encouraging. I am so glad that I got so close with you. I’ll never forget our trip to the hockey game with you, Sarah Gardner, Erika, and Cathy when we had our little incident in Wabasha. I also have you to thank for my nickname, Marge. Welly, you were always so motivating and we all loved the Welly train, wooooo! ? Erika, my fellow three rivers conference player, I still remember one of the first things I said to you was, “hey, remember that girl from Wabasha that fell over the centerfield fence during one of our playoff games? Yeah, that was me!” I probably didn’t like you in high school, but I’m so glad we put all of that high school rivalry behind us and got to be friends. To all the other girls: Courtney, Harstad, Lindsey, Ku, and the others I may have forgotten, I’m so glad I had the opportunity to play with you.
To my current teammates: I have enjoyed this season so much. All of you are so much fun to be around. And to my fellow seniors, I couldn’t have asked for a better group. We are lucky to be as close as we are. Our song will always be “Girls just want to have fun!” We’ve had a great four years.
Cathy- My other senior setter, although neither of us really set anymore. I’m glad that now that we’re older we are the ones that get to pick on the younger setters during setter basketball, instead of being the ones picked on. Also, thank you for always being my pepper partner. I think we successfully had the same spot all four years! It has been so nice to have such a close friend also play the same sport as I do. I know sometimes it may have caused us to spend too much time together, but we always made it work.
Carissa- You too are one of my best friends here at school and I’m lucky to have gotten to play volleyball with you. Sometimes I don’t know how we don’t get sick of each other since we spend almost all of our time together. You’ve definitely brought a lot of humor to this team the past four years, even sometimes when you weren’t trying. This year we have gotten especially close during season because we now play the same position and you are always so supportive. It was nice to have someone to talk to and that I could relate to, who was also such a good friend.
Tara- You are an amazing player, I’ve always been envious of your skills in the back row! I’ll never forget that high bun you used to wear and when that announcer introduced you as “Pebbles” from the Flintstones. You have a laugh that can make anyone who hears it smile. I have really loved getting to know and play with you these past four years.
Sabrina- The strongest girl that I know! You are so incredible and I am lucky to be able to say that I got to know you and play volleyball with you. Playing with you has been so much fun. You are one of the hardest workers I know. I remember you and your excitement about everything! I remember when we roomed together during camp before our freshman year and we just talked for hours, you seemed so cool. I love your farm girl, small town attitude. But, I enjoy all of your not so small town personality and wardrobe, from your black Nikes to your puffy jacket. You have such drive and determination and you can do anything you set your mind to and I admire you greatly for that.
Lexi- I am so glad that we have gotten so close over these past few years. I know that if I ever need to talk to anyone about anything I can come to you. You are an incredible setter and I’m so glad that I got to play with you. I love that we can talk volleyball from a psychology standpoint and analyze every little thing. You are such a leader and always work your hardest. I liked all of your superstitions including the one where if you step on someone’s foot, they need to step on yours. I remember us standing in the corner of the court stepping on each others’ feet until the up ref signaled us that we needed to start the game. I am really going to miss you next year.
Bunne- You are hilarious. I seriously think you are the funniest person I know. I know we joke to you about how shy you were your freshman year, but its okay I’m just glad you finally came out of your shell. I do have to say one of the funniest though was the alumni game this past year. I especially liked how you styled your hair that day and posed for the picture. I’m really glad we got to be so close these past few years and I know that if I ever need a good laugh that I can always count on you. ? (p.s. always keep your stat hand strong)
The sophomores, although I still sometimes think of you guys as freshman. Jenna- you are a freshman, but I thought I would categorize you with this group. You are such an incredible teammate! It didn’t matter who was playing, or what happened or how someone was playing you were always the first to tell them how great of a job they were doing. It never went unappreciated. You are always the hardest worker and going to do great things for this team! Meg- I’ve missed playing on the same side as you this year. It was always so much fun playing next to you! My advice for you is HAVE CONFIDENCE, you can do it! Molly- You have come so far in just one year. I remember last year always trying to pump you up and now you come on the court pumping us up, I love it! I also love that you enjoy country music just as much as I do. And you have monster blocking hands. ? Janae- You have an amazing attitude and a great work ethic! You are never down and always seem to have a smile on your face. Never lose that. Mary- You are a huge part of this team. You are another one who never seems to get down. You too have improved so much in one year and continue to do so every game! Each one of you has so much potential and I cannot wait to come back and watch you.
The freshmen! I’m so glad that I got to be a part of this team with you. Lex- you are a great passer! And not only can you pass; you can also serve, set, and hit back row. I’m so glad that I got to play with you this past year. Seba- I’m glad I’m your friend. You are someone that I would not like to be enemies with. ? You have such a strong arm swing and an amazing serve that gets me every time. Taylor- I’m sorry I yelled at you so many times to stop itching, I was only trying to help. You have a great work ethic and potential to be a great leader on this team, keep it up ? Brooke- Thank you for always doing our laundry; I know it wasn’t an easy job. But, we really do appreciate it! I also love that you always have an energetic positive attitude when you play! Emily- I have enjoyed watching you progress even since preseason! You have improved so much in such a short time I am excited to watch you throughout the years. Jordan- I love when people tell us how much alike we are and we just stand there like, yeah I know. ? I am so glad that I got to play with you this past year. You are an amazing volleyball player. I still remember the good old days of doing our setter practices and you loving every minute of it. But look, now you can pass with your hands no problem. I am going to miss you, but I am excited to come back and watch you kick butt! Also sometimes I have no idea how you get the ball to go where you want it to with your form, but it works every time. Oh and I’m still going to recommend that you wear one of those concussion headbands, just in case.
Advice for future players- College volleyball can be demanding and a lot of work at times. And the reality of it is that not everyone can be a starter. If you are not a starter do not feel like you are a useless part of this team. Everyone on a team has a role. It doesn’t matter what your role is, just take it and dominate it. Be that person at practice that works hard no matter what the drill. Be a team player and support everyone! Be thankful to be a part of the team and embrace every minute of it because trust me it flies by. |
