Wow, I can’t believe it is time for me to write my senior salute. These four years have gone by way too fast! I am so grateful to have played volleyball for as long as I have. Throughout my career I have had some of the best experiences and have made some of my strongest friendships. I will never forget playing club for the first time and getting put on the “B” team. I was 5’ 4” and wasn’t much of an asset to the team, but with hard work and strong diligence I ended up where I am at today. Throughout the years there are so many people that have supported me and believed in my abilities to be able to play college volleyball, and I am so fortunate for them!
First, I want to thank my family for all of the amazing opportunities they have provided for me. My family has been my number one support team since day one of my volleyball career. They encouraged me to play as much as I could and drove me to where I needed to be. I always could count on them to be in the stands at 630 in the morning for a power league tournament. Without my family, the success I have had throughout my career would be non-existent. I can’t say how grateful I am to have such a powerhouse supporting me with all that I do. Mom- You have been my solid rock throughout my volleyball years. Dad- I don’t know what I would do without your great words of wisdom! Everything you two have done for me I am so appreciative of! I love you both so much and I am so lucky to have parents that are so dedicated to my success! Thanks mom and dad for everything that you have done for me!! I am so grateful for you two!
Nicky and Matthew- Thanks for putting up with mom and dad talking about volleyball all of the time! You guys have been so supportive whether you were coming to my games or peppering with me in the yard. Now it is your time to show off your great talents! I can’t wait to go to your matches, and give you the same support you have given me!
Nina- Thank you thank you thank you for all of the support you have given me throughout my years playing! Even though we are 5 hours a part, I can always count on you keeping up with the stats and watching the games online. All of your love and support has been such a motivator for me in all aspects of my life! Thank you for being the best grandma anyone could have! And thank you for cooking me amazing meals and goodies that I got to indulge in after every game ?
To our fans, thank you for coming out and supporting all of our games! It was the best feeling to be able to show what we have been working our tails off for! I know with everyone’s busy schedules it wasn’t always the easiest, but coming and cheering was amazing!! Thanks again…and keep coming to the games!!
During my volleyball career I have been fortunate enough to have great coaches. I want to first thank Coach Mike Lester for giving me the opportunity to play college volleyball. I’ll never forget the first time you came down to watch my high school game and basically missed it because of my dad talking the whole time. Well, in the end I’m so glad that I came to SMU and had the opportunity to play! You have been very insightful for me on and off the court and I am very grateful for that! Thanks again Coach!
Tessa- Thank you for pushing me my freshman year! I have to give you a lot of credit for my successes at SMU. I know that at the time it might have been difficult to hear it, but seeing where I’m at today it was so worth it. I miss you and hope your family is doing great!
Ashley- You are truly an amazing player! You brought an outside perspective that really helped our team grow and be successful. Thank you for taking time out of your day to play with us and make us better!
Jenna Ness- I know you were only our coach for a year, but I am so glad that I got to know you! You were so insightful and passionate about volleyball, which always got me super excited to play! I hope that you have so much success as the head coach of Loras. Those girls are genuinely lucky to have such an amazing coach!
Rhode- You are honestly the coolest person I know. Talking about Lolla and everything else music made my practices ten times better! During scrimmages you really pushed all of us to be on our toes because you would basically get a kill every time! I hope that we can keep in touch, and maybe even run into each other at a music festival!
Jackie- I am so glad to have gotten the chance to have you as a coach, even if it was only for one year! You are so knowledgeable about the game and have so much passion! You really pushed me to be the best I could be, and I am very grateful for that! I hope that you continue to coach at SMU and empower other players like you did for me ?
Coming in as a freshman, I had no idea what to expect or to be honest what was going on. I am so lucky to have had upper classmen that looked out for me and made my freshman year so much fun! Brittany- You have been such an inspiration for me at SMU. I will never forget all of the encouragement and confidence you gave me my freshman year. I was so fortunate to have been able to watch you rock the court and follow in your footsteps! Welly- Thank you for being the sweetest person I know! I loved how you were always so positive and who could forget the Welly train wooowooo! Sarah- I am so glad that I had the opportunity to play with you! You were and still are an amazing hitter and I am so glad that I had the chance to be able to set you! Erika- GRANDMA! I am so lucky to have you as a teammate! You always knew how to make me laugh and have a good time! I can’t wait to see what your future holds for you! Love always Helen ? To Lindsey, Ku, and Harstad, thank you for being such amazing role models to me. You each individually impacted me in such a positive way and I am so grateful to have had you as teammates!
To the seniors last year- I couldn’t imagine how my time at SMU would have been without you. Megan-You were such help for me on and off the court. I don’t know what I would have done without all of your great advice and all of our long talks! I miss you SO much and wish you all the luck with grad school! Cathy, I am so glad that I had the opportunity to play with you! Thank you for pushing me to be where I’m at today! Good luck with law school… wooo ? To Carissa, Tara, and Sabrina, you guys were great teammates and were such great role models! Thank you for everything ?
To my current teammates- Looking back on this season I get the chills! Our team has truly become a family, and I am so grateful to have each and every one of you in my life! Sizzzle ?
Bunne- I don’t even know where to begin. I will never forget when coach made you come stay with me during pre-season our freshman year, and how much I scared you because I was being me and couldn’t stop talking! Our friendship has grown so much over these four years. You have truly been my rock and someone that I could always count on. We have had so many good times and so many great memories!! I wish I could say them all on here … that’s for another time. I hope that our friendship continues to grow after college so that we can create even more memories!
To the juniors, and yes Jenna I counted you as one ? Jenna- You are such an amazing player on and off the court! You are probably one of the most knowledgeable volleyball players I have ever met. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to play with you. I am going to miss your sassiness and updates from Sammy’s team! I know you are going to lead the team to great heights next year! Woo ? Molly- Seeing you develop from your freshman year is amazing! You have grown so much as a player! I am going to miss your goofiness and great work ethic! I know you are going to be such an amazing teacher, and I am so excited to see what the future holds for you! Janae- You have such an amazing attitude and work ethic! You are always positive and are there to pump anyone up! You are such an important part of this team! Keep doing you girl, because you’re on to amazing things! Mary- You have improved so much! You are a huge part to this team! I am so fortunate I had the opportunity to play with you! I can’t wait to come back and watch you play!
To the sophomores, I am so glad that I got to play with you! Lex- You are on to amazing achievements! I am so glad that we got to play together and have become the friends we have! Take the leadership role and run the back row!! I can’t wait to read and see all of your success! Keep it up girl ? Tayler- I am SO excited for you!! You have grown to become an amazing player! I excited to see you lead this team next year and show off to everyone all of your amazing skills! You are an amazing player and I can’t wait for you to run the court! ? Jordan- I loved being in your room for away games because you always made me laugh! I am excited to watch you play next year and see all of the success you are going to have! Emily- You are one of the sweetest people I know! You have improved so much and I am so excited to see what next year has in store for you! You always know how to tell a good story and make everyone laugh!! Brooke- You are such an amazing player! You have stepped in during some crucial times for our team and have helped us lead to success! I can’t wait to see what the next two years has in store for you! Alex- You are one of the best hitters I have ever played with! I am so glad that I had you on my side of the net and not the other side ? I am so excited to read about you next year, and see all the accomplishments you’re going to earn! Kenzie- I am so glad that you came to SMU this year! You are one of the sweetest people I know! I look forward for these next two years for you! You are truly an amazing player and a great teammate to have! ? Macki- You are genuinely the nicest person I have ever met…in my life!! You are such a great asset and inspiration to this team! You are truly the best teammate or friend anyone could have! I hope that you have a great hockey season, and continue to still play volleyball ?
To the freshmen, I can’t say how fast these four years go by! Take them day-by-day and cherish every opportunity! They will all turn into amazing memories down road. Moe- You are going to have so many accomplishments in your career. Keep leading the back row and keep having fun! I am so glad that there is another Chicago girl on the team ? Urban- You are an amazing hitter!! I am so excited to watch and read about all of your successes! I am so glad that I had the opportunity to play with you! Maddie- You are a great setter! Always remember to have confidence in yourself! You are going to have great accomplishments and I can’t wait to see what your future has in store for you!
College volleyball has taught me so many life skills and has given me so many opportunities! I will always remember the amazing trip to Italy, going to Boston with the team, as well as the endless amount of memories that were created over the past four years. I am so thankful to have all of my teammates and all of the memories! Thank you to all of my teammates, family, and friends for helping me with my career and making such an impact on my life! |
