October 23, 2003
Oh my gosh...this weekend was sooo fun! Since it was Homecoming, the past four days have been full of things to do all over campus. The weekend got started with our win over LSU! The match was so exciting. We didn't start off so hot, losing the first two games...but soon enough, we decided to wake up and play OUR GAME! I knew we'd pull through. In the past few days, I've had so many people tell me how exciting it was to watch...ha...try being on the court-I almost had a flippin heart attack. :)

So anyways, that night was my first MIDNIGHT MADNESS experience. Memorial Coliseum was packed. Our cheerleaders were awesome, the dance team did their thing, and of course, it was so fun to see the teams be introduced. They had Tubby come out in the "Back to the Future" car...it was cool. I'll tell you though, I'm from Indiana and I have NEVER seen people go so crazy for basketball! It was hysterical!

Then came Saturday. After practice, our team got together and helped sell balloons at the football game. All proceeds went to the athletic department--thanks to all of you who contributed! I swear, I think I met every single person at the game that day! I had such a good time. What happened was this--everyone who bought a balloon brought them into the stadium and we released them at kick-off. It was really neat to watch. But most importantly, our football team smashed Ohio University. It was a perfect way to end the day, as well as the whole weekend.

We're traveling to Florida and Georgia in a few days. The team is really excited. Hopefully it is a tad bit warmer there than it is here--all of a sudden it has been freezing! I'm all about NOT being cold, so you know...Florida sounds nice.:)Well, I'm all out of things to ramble about, so I guess we've come to the end of another thrilling journal! I know our fans can't be with us this weekend, but we know you're rootin for us! Thanks for being so awesome! Go Cats!

October 14, 2003
So it turns out that college isn't as stressful as I have made it. Of course I have my moments of panic-but who doesn't? I've learned that life is only as stressful as you make it...so I just won't make it like that! :) This approach is working beautifully-- the other night, I dropped everything I was doing and went to a movie with Kirby, Julie, Sarah, and Leigh. We saw OUT OF TIME...you know, that new one with Denzel. It was awesome! I highly recommmend everyone to go see it-there's lots of suspense!! We've already made plans to go see Texas Chainsaw Massacre this weekend...uhh,can you tell that seeing movies is really the only thing we have time to do during season? Ha.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. We play LSU and Arkansas again-two chances to redeem ourselves! They should be good games. My parents are coming down to spend the weekend with me. It's also Homecoming weekend and Midnight Madness is Friday after our game! Whoa, I'm excited. It should be alot of fun...I can't wait! But first, I have to use this week to prepare for my Chemistry and Spanish exams. Yah rah...

I'll let you know how it all plays out...till next time...GO BLUE!

October 6, 2003
Sorry I haven't written in awhile...a lot has been going on! Life has been geting a little hectic. You know...it's your typical "I don't have time to do anything anymore" type of thing. The team has been putting a lot hours in the gym, we travel, what seems like, every other day, and on top of it all, classes are KILLER! I've just come to a huge realization...classes get harder as the semester goes on! I mean, when the school year started, I was soooooo under control-everything was review from senior year and the homework level was fairly low. Uuuuhhh...not anymore. It was actually kinda funny. I woke up one day and realized that I was almost a week behind in all my classes(we miss a lot of class due to traveling). Let's just say it was a super swell day. But know things are looking better. I'm pretty sure I have it all under control again...we'll see. :)

Anyways, we just finished the weekend with a two huge wins over MSU and Ole Miss. My family came down for the games...it was good to see them. Also, my friends, Alex and Queen, came to spend some time with the team...we had a lot of fun. On Tuesday, we head for South Carolina, and then we face Tennessee on Sunday. It's another busy week...but it's all going by so fast! I'm loving college...everything's awesome!-well, almost everything...my roommate's kind of annoying...haha, just kiddin Jenni! She just wanted me to mention her in this thing soooo bad. :) Well, I've got a tutor in about 10 minutes...I'll try not to wait so long this time before I write again!

Go Cats!

September 22, 2003
Well, that was it...our last tournament before SEC play kicks off this weekend. Although we left New Mexico without the record we were hoping for, we had a great time while we were there. It was definitely a new experience for the entire team! The mountains surrounding Albuquerque were amazing, and the weather was perfect. UNM is a pretty cool campus; it has a unique style to it. All the buildings have sort of an orange-pinkish color to them, and the flowers really spiced it up. I can't say New Mexico is one of the most beautiful places I have been- because it was mostly desert-, but it was a different, so I liked it.

We stayed at the Marriott...it was nice. I roomed with AMY (Kaplan)-haha, that was interesting. Let's just say we had a little incident that we can laugh about now! Uhh, yea, that's about all I am going to say about that. Anyways, our last night there was so much fun! We ate at a Mexican restaurant called Garduno's. The food was good, but the best part of the night was when the mariachi band played for us! Our team really got into it.... we clapped, cheered, sang...yep, fun times, huh?J Our team really needed that after such a rough weekend-it really cheered us up.

This tournament turned out to be a "lesson learned". We have some things to fix- we know that. Now, it's a matter of how we are going to use these past few games. We can either learn from them, or they can get the best of us. I can't wait to play Arkansas and LSU this weekend! We're gonna do some great things-I can feel it! Until next time- GO CATS!

September 17, 2003
Just this past weekend, our team hosted the Kentucky Conference Challenge. Syracuse, Wright State, and Virginia came to participate. It was a great start to the weekend with an exciting win over Syracuse. I mean- yeah, our team played awesome, and yeah, Syracuse put up a great fight...but the real magic was in the stands. Our crowd was unbelievable!! So many people came to watch...the response we received was amazing! It was so fun to hear "WILDCATS" after each point we scored! It really made my first home game an experience to remember.

As for the rest of the weekend, our team grew in more ways than one. Another win over Wright State and an unfortunate loss to Virginia revealed our team's strengths, as well as potential weaknesses. Now, it's all a matter of how our team is going to improve over the course of this next week, before competition in New Mexico--which, by the way, I am really excited for! I've never been there...it's gonna be a fun couple of days.

Now away from the volleyball part of the weekend....I got a little surprise before our Wright State game. My best friend Katie came down from IU to see me play! I was so excited...I haven't seen her in two months. That's one of the hard things about being in college...you miss all your friends from back home. I'm from Indianapolis, so it isn't that far...but Katie is the only one I have seen since I came to Lexington. It was so great to spend time with her.

Well, I'm in the middle of another exciting week. We're leaving around 2:30 on Thursday...I can't wait. It's getting better each day our team hits the court...our possibilities are endless. Gooooo CATS! :)

P.S. Thank you to all of the parents, students, staff, and anyone else who came to cheer us on this weekend. It means so much to the entire team. Keep it up...I'm sure we'll make you proud! GO BLUE!

September 8, 2003
It was an exciting weekend for Kentucky Volleyball! We defeated Western Illinois, Iowa, and Iowa State to capture the Cyclone Challenge Championship. Sissy, Sarah, and Leigh were named to the All- Tournament Team. Leigh was the tourney MVP! She was very deserving of this honor! I have to say that Leigh is the best setter I have had a chance to work with. She is a very talented player and a real leader on and off the court. Her performance this weekend was AWESOME. Overall, the weekend was a blast, and the entire team is to thank for that.

But now that we're back in Lexington, it's time to get back to classes. I'll tell ya--being a student-athlete is HARD WORK! I knew this would be a huge step up from high school, but I don't think I truly realized how demanding my schedule would be. Let's just walk through a typical day in the life of me...

8:00-9:00 -- breakfast, walk to Chemistry building
9:00-9:50 -- Chemistry class
9:50-10:00 -- DEAD SPRINT to Dickey Hall for Spanish (seriously):)
10:00-10:50 -- Spanish class
11:00-11:50 -- Geography Class
12:00-2:00 -- Quick lunch, study at CATS
2:00-6:00 -- Practice
6:00-7:15 -- Math class
7:30-8:00 -- Dinner
8:00-10:00 -- Tutors

This is my life 5 days a week! Stressful, huh? The only thing that will get me through the week is knowing our team hits the court, again, this weekend! We are hosting a tournament with Syracuse, Wright State, and Virginia. We will face off against Syracuse on Friday night at 7! (hint hint..come cheer on your CATS!) Can't wait to see everyone there! Go BIG BLUE!

September 4, 2003
Well.....today the team leaves for Ames, Iowa. This weekend we will face off against Western Illinois, Iowa, and Iowa State. I am so excited to see what our team can really do!

It's hard to concentrate on other stuff when you know you've got a big tournament coming up. This morning, I have to get through two classes and a whole other practice session before we leave! Talk about anticipation!

We've had some good practices this week, and hopefully we will see some results within the next few days. Coach Braden has been working really hard to prepare us for any opponent we will face this season. All the girls on the team are ready to prove to the world what Kentucky Volleyball is really capable of doing!

Speaking from a freshman's point of view, I am so happy to be involved on a team with such great leadership and enthusiasm. We are all in this thing together. Everyone is on the same page, with the same goals in mind. I just know this team is going to surprise a whole lot of people this season!

Alright, I got to go to class now--we have a busy day ahead of us. Look out IOWA...here come the CATS!

September 3, 2003
We're off to a great start to the season! Our team finished this weekend with a 2-1 record. Unfortunatley, we dropped our first match to Wake Forest. The Deacs played a great match-- we just came up short in the end. But the good news is that we managed to learn from that loss and bring in two incredible wins!! We defeated SMU the next morning and beat Tennessee Tech later that night. All three matches were awesome!

Our team showed a lot of character this weekend. We managed to pull together and learned to play with one another. There are four new freshmen on our team, and it was a huge adjustment for all of us. The upperclassmen were real team players, and they guided us through our first performances as college athletes. A whole lot of teamwork and effort went into this weekend, and I think the team is happy with how things played out.

After a day of rest (from a long bus trip home), we were back in the gym! Now, we're preparing for this weekend's tournament in Iowa. I think our team has gained a lot of knowledge and experience from this past weekend. I know our team is getting better and better everyday--things can only go up from here. I look forward to this weekend as well as the rest of the season. Our team is on a mission--there's no stoppin us now!

August 29, 2003
What a big day for Kentucky Volleyball! Words cannot describe the excitement I am feeling right now. Today we kick off our season against Wake Forest in the Demon Deacon Invitational.

Our team arrived late last night in Winston-Salem, N.C., after an eight-hour bus trip. All I could think about the entire time was how this would be my first real competition as a college athlete. I know our entire team is bursting with anticipation and energy. It has been a long and challenging pre-season. Our team has spent many hours in the gym this past month preparing for this day. We are ready - there's no doubt about it!

After getting in a good nine hours of sleep last night, the team got up, got dressed and went to breakfast. I write this entry as I am sitting in my hotel room, waiting for our team meeting at 11:00 a.m. Today's preparation for tonight's big game is crucial. We need to eat right, study our opponent and have a short serve-pass practice before the match.

Everything is a whole new experience for me. At times, I find myself a little nervous, but then the excitement hits me and I can't wait. I know our team is going to do awesome - we've worked too hard not to! All the emotions I feel right now make me realize that I am truly blessed to be a part of this team. The coaches are great, the support staff is amazing and the girls are so fun to work with.

But above all, everyone involved is determined to do something amazing this season. Our team has grown so close this past month. Many hours in the gym, team meals, meetings and a canoe trip really brought us together. Now the time has come to show people what we've been working for.

Tomorrow we will finish the weekend with Tennessee Tech and Southern Methodist University. Hopefully, my next entry will have good news to tell. Our day is busy and I've got to go now! Till next time - GO CATS!