Chasing the Volleyball Life

Volleyball has been one of the most consistent things in my life for the past 8 years. I started playing at 16 because I was the tallest girl in school. Fast forward two years and I was walking-on as a redshirt freshmen to the Oregon State team. My five years at OSU ended on a high note when my team made it to the Sweet 16 in December 2014. I graduated and spent a year working before quitting my job to play professionally in the Philippines. When I chose to play volleyball at age 16, I had no idea that small decision would completely alter my life path...

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An Unconventional Recruiting Story & What You Can Learn From It

I secured my first official visit with the University of Colorado and had a couple other visits brewing on the backburner. Since I am from Colorado, visiting this school felt like home. I loved everything about it and all of the puzzle pieces just seemed to fit. I ended up verbally committing about a week later. Fast-forward, a couple months to Halloween weekend. I got a knock on my door and it happened to be the head coach at CU. Taken aback, my parents and I welcomed her into our home and we sat down to have a discussion...

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The Importance of Finding an Identity Outside of Volleyball

I started the VolleyBlog as a way to help players and parents learn more about what it takes to be a great player.  Part of that is to bring you stories from former players.  Today, we bring you Dana Backlund who played club ball at Wave Volleyball Club, went on to University of Florida and then Oregon State University before having to medically retire, this is her volleyball story.

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