Studying Habits

Okay so finals are right around the corner and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for good studying strategies???

Thanksgiving Break

So I'm sitting in my dorm right now and I'm pretty sure I am the ONLY person in my hallway right now! Everyone has gone home for Thanksgiving! I couldn't go home because I have my last volleyball game tomorrow and my parents think it would be pointless for me to fly home for a couple of days and then fly me back home again just a weeks later for Christmas break. So instead of going home I will be going with A.J., one of my teammates to her house in Richmond for Thanksgiving. A.J.'s mom was nice enough to have me and a few of my other teammates who aren't going home over to share Thanksgiving with them. Also it's weird thinking about how tomorrow is my last game of the season! I can't wait to dominate Virginia Tech!

Last Game of the Season

On Wednesday it is the last game of the season. So after that I can say I survived my freshman year of college volleyball! It has been a great experience and I can't wait for my next three seasons to come. For the fourth years on the team, it will be the last volleyball match of their career. We will be playing Virginia Tech at Tech on their senior night so it will be a great match. I know that all of us including the fourth years will be playing our hearts out because we would like to end the season with a win. I hope we play our hardest and make the best of the rest of our season!

On the Road

We leave early tomorrow morning for two of our last away games this season. We are first going to Georgia to play Georgia Tech and then South Carolina to play Clemson. The bus ride to Georgia will be about 8 and a half hours! So we will be spending lots of quality time together! It will give me a chance to catch up on a lot of homework as well. Hopefully we come home with two more wins this weekend! Go Hoos!

Game tonight

Tonight we play Wake Forest at home at 7pm so be there if you can! It's a really big match because right now there is a three way tie in our conference and if we win we will move up in places. I know we are fully prepared because we have prepped all week for the games this weekend! I'm really excited and can't wait to get another win tonight! GO HOOS!

Last Home Games This Weekend.

This weekend will be our last home games for the season. Saturday night is our senior night and that is the last time our seniors will play at home. Thinking about that really makes me realize that these four years of college athletics fly by quickly and you should really treasure every moment. Sure there are days when you may not want to go to practice or things just aren't going right but think about all the great memories and experiences that you will take away from it when it's all said and done. Getting to play a college sport is something that not everyone gets to do so I am going to make sure that I make the best of it and enjoy the experience. That's all I have to say about that! And come to our senior night game on Saturday at 7pm!

Teammates

Some days I don't know what I would do without my teammates! They are my second family; I'm with them everyday and I love it. Yea we get on each other's nerves every once in a while but at the end of the day they are always there for you. Coming to a school so far away from home was a bit scary for me at first because I literally didn't know anyone except for my teammates and coaches. And even then I didn't know my teammates all that well yet. But right from the beginning they were very welcoming and I am very grateful that the upperclassmen have taken us first years under their wing. It's nice to have people that you can go to for advice or help on anything you need. It has definitely made the transition from being so far away from home a lot easier.

Halloween!

This weekend we had two home matches. We played Friday night and had a tough loss against FSU. Then we had practice saturday and went to the football game. Then on Sunday we played Miami and won in 5 games! It was a great win for us this weekend! Now I have a full week of homework ahead of me and we leave for North Carolina this weekend to play NC State and UNC.

Game Tomorrow

Today was kind of a boring day. I had class at eight this morning and then again at 9:45 and 12:30. After my classes I went to look at apartments that I am thinking about living in next year. The one I liked the most is called Veneable and its down 14th street. I'm going to live with Tobi, another first year on my team so that should be fun. After looking at apartments we had practice and ice bath. After that we went to dinner at one of the donor's of the volleyball programs house. She also used to play on the volleyball team. We had lasagna and spaghetti. It was really good and it was nice to have a home-cooked meal since all I've been eating is dining hall food. Tomorrow night we have a big game against Florida State at seven! I'm excited for that!

Boring Day

This morning I woke up for my 8 o' clock class at 7:45 and got there right on time. My first class was ENWR. Today we got into groups of three and presented a chapter from the book. After my ENWR class I had sociology with my two other first year teammates, Tobi and Jess. Then I had a break and went back to my dorm for a little bit and then I met up with another one of my teammates, Hillary, and we ate at the Pavilion because we were getting sick of eating at the dining hall. Then I went to my 12:30 Art History class. After that class I went back to the dorms because I got an email saying I had a package. My grandpa sent me a card with some candy and money! It was a nice surprise and it's always good to know that your family is thinking about you back home! Before I knew it, it was time for practice so I made my way over to the gym. Today's practice was good and we even got out a little early! Now I am in study hall writing my daily blog!

Successful Weekend

We won both of our games this weekend which was awesome! It's always great to get two more wins, especially on the road! We played Maryland first and beat them in 3 games and then we played Boston College the next day and beat them in 5 games. When we were traveling to BC a complication arose! We landed at the airport and we were waiting for our travel bus to come but it had gotten in a minor accident so we had to find a different way to get to our hotel! Everything ended up working out so it was okay. I'd never been to Boston before so it was exciting to see part of the city. The weather was kind of crummy though; it rained the whole time we were there. I was also not feeling too well the whole weekend. I had a really bad cold but I'm feeling better. On the way back home we flew on Jet Blue which is a plane that has more legroom and tv's! So that was nice to have on the way back! Now I'm back and happy to be back in Charlottesville!

Busy Day

I woke up this morning for my 8 o' clock class and when I arrive there only six of my classmates are there. It turned out our class was cancelled but our teacher did not send an email that informed us of this until 1:30 in the morning! So I could've gotten a little extra sleep because my next class wasn't until 9:30! I went to my next class which seemed like it dragged on forever. After that I went back to my dorm to pack my suitcase for our volleyball trip this weekend. After packing I went to lunch at Newcomb and went to my class at 12:30. We got our tests back and I did well so I was happy about that! Finally my classes were over for the day but before I went to the gym for practice I had to go back to the dorms to get my suitcase. Practice was a little shorter today because we were leaving on the travel bus to Maryland around 7. On the bus we watched the movie "The Proposal". It was really good and it took up most of the driving time. Now I am currently sitting in my hotel in Maryland and I am excited to play in my match tomorrow!

Traveling for the Weekend

Tomorrow the volleyball team leaves for Maryland to play the University of Maryland and then we will fly to Boston College to play them as well. Normally when we travel I miss all my classes for that day but tomorrow we are leaving later in the evening. So I will get to go to all my classes and the we will practice for about two hours before leaving on the sleeper bus. I'm glad I won't miss any class because I missed a lot earlier in the season because of all the traveling we did. I always like going on the sleeper bus rather than flying because the sleeper bus is more comfortable and I can get more homework done. I also like it because it's fun to be able to hang out with my team. I'm excited to get the opportunity to play this weekend and hopefully bring home two more wins!

Rachel