Throughout the next couple months, each member of the West Virginia University volleyball team will share their thoughts on what it's like being a Division I student-athlete at West Virginia and what makes being a Mountaineer so special. First up – sophomore Erin Slinde.
 
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Mountaineer Nation, guess who's back?
 
You guessed it! It's me! Erin Slinde!
 
Many of you probably recognize my name from our team SnapChat, but if you don't follow us, our tag is @WVU_Volleyball. Now, I know the Mountaineer faithful have missed my blog posts from last year [probably not], but I am so excited to tell you about what we've been up to this past month. 
 
The spring semester has been great so far! We were all so excited to be back on campus, sharing more memories with one another after a break spent at home with family.  
 
The spring is our team's chance to focus on getting stronger and faster in preparation for next season. Our strength and conditioning coach Beth Byron plays a huge role in preparing us for summer break, so that when we come back, we are in shape and ready to train our butts off. Spring workouts are not easy, but our team is just focused on getting 1% better every day. 
 
School also is off to a great start! Many of us have classes throughout the day, but we all work together to find time and get some extra reps in. Since we've been back, we've pretty much experienced all types of weather. We've seen it all from rain to snow to sunshine, but no matter what the weather is, your Mountaineers are always grinding.
 
Speaking of Mountaineers, our fellow student-athletes have been doing great this semester. We have enjoyed attending many winter sporting events such as basketball, gymnastics and swimming and diving. We've even witnessed the men's basketball team reach its highest ranking in the AP Poll since 1959, appearing at No. 2.
 
Personally, I've been keeping busy by coaching at a local youth club and helping with SAAC. I've also started working for WVU sports media and have been training to work the basketball games. 
However, my favorite experience from this semester is from just a few weeks ago. I had the chance to meet one of my role models, Maria Taylor, at a WVU men's basketball game. Maria Taylor is a sports broadcaster on ESPN College GameDay and was a sideline reporter when the crew came to Morgantown for the Kentucky game. Reed [Sunahara] had coached her in the past and offered to introduce me to her after the show. I talked to her a little bit after the show and took a picture with her. I also talked to her after the game for a little bit before she had to leave.
 
This past month has reminded me how truly lucky I am to be a Mountaineer. I've been blessed with so many opportunities to help me toward my future career, and I'm excited to see where I will go thanks to all the experience I have gained over the last two years at WVU.
 
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thanks for all the continued support and tune in next week to hear more about the team!
 
And as always … LET'S GO MOUNTAINEERS!
 
XOXO,
 
Erin Slinde