TicketsThroughout the 2006-07 school year, select UC student-athletes will share their experiences on and off the field with Bearcat fans through CATSblogs. These student-athletes will take you in to the life of a Bearcat and share their struggles and triumphs. Fans can email their favorite CATSblogger here! Be sure to include your name and hometown.
Myanna Hellsten is a senior middle blocker for the UC volleyball team. She is majoring in interdisciplinary studies.
Natalie Dossman is a junior defensive specialist and team captain for the UC volleyball team. She is majoring in health promotions.
November 25, 2006
by Natalie
Hey everyone! I know, I know I didn't write last week, I'm a horrible person! I don't know what happened I guess I just spaced. Well let me fill you in...
As we all know I've been running! And now I've started some passing stuff, nothing too hard, just nice and easy! I'm so excited; playing is getting closer and closer. I'm also extremely happy that this coming week is the last week of classes before exams start! I am so ready for Christmas Break, although I have to get through all of my exams first!
Well Thanksgiving was a lot of fun, we all went to the Torok's house and ate as a team. The food was awesome! We played Catch Phrase as a team and we were all cracking up, it was hilarious! You should all probably make an attempt to play the game with Jaime Frey, she is pretty funny.
Yesterday was our last regular season game as well as Senior Night. We went out on top beating Kentucky, and my friend Melissa, in five. It was a very exhilarating match to watch and it was fun to see My and Noel competing for possibly the last time. After the game we had a dinner upstairs in their honor and we presented them with gifts from the team! We are all going to miss them so much next year; it won't be the same without them!
Today we had lunch at Potbelly as a team and then Jami Torok and I went shopping at Cincinnati Mills. We had a good time looking around and buying a few things... Only things on sale though! We meet tomorrow to find out if we make it into the NCAA tournament. The selection show is at 3, so we will let all of you know as soon as we know something! Anyways, enjoy the rest of your weekend!
November 22, 2006
by Myanna
Well, our last match is this Friday. It is the weirdest feeling knowing that it is the last time I'll play. Noel and I were talking about it and how it just feels strange and almost surreal. I've been trying not to think about it too much and just enjoy the time I have left.
School is crazy of course but all my classes were cancelled today due to Thanksgiving so that's really nice, though the professors are making up for it with work! After the break we only have one week of classes and then finals!! I'm definitely ready for the break from school.
I hope everyone has a very happy and joyous Thanksgiving holiday and if you get the chance come see our last match!
November 11, 2006
by Natalie
Hey everyone! I hope you all had a good week. My week was pretty good, of course nothing much exciting happened. Except for one thing: I RAN! By ran I mean I put my stupid knee brace on, went down to the football field, and ran laps on my own! It was maybe the most exciting day of my life! I haven't been able to run in over two months! It felt weird, and I'm out of shape, but it didn't hurt my knee at all which is a very good thing! I was so excited that I ran that I didn't even notice that my knee brace had cut me in three different places on my leg, it didn't even phase me because I RAN! Ok I guess I'll stop bragging about my running and talk about volleyball.
We had a pretty good week of practice and we tried changing the lineup a bit. We put Custer on the outside and Schroeder on the right side. It seemed to be working well in practice, but yesterday in our match against Georgetown, it didn't go as planned. We did win by the way yesterday. It was not our most graceful performance, but we came out with a win which is what we needed to keep our tournament hopes alive. After the volleyball game last night Jami, Erin, and I went over to Myanna, Noel, Jenny, Hannah, and Jessie's apartment and watched the UC basketball game. We had a good time hanging out and laughing alot like we usually do. The guys beat Howard and it was fun to watch!
Alright well it's time for me to go babysit again! I hope you all have a good weekend and I'll talk to you next week!
November 9, 2006
by Myanna
We split last weekend on the road with a heartbreaking loss to Pitt in five (15-13). We're excited and happy to be back home for the end of regular season conference play though. Life is crazy right now. It's the last few weeks of classes and teachers are making sure they keep you busy.
It's also the last few weeks of volleyball, so strange. This season has gone by so fast. Seniors always say that and when you're younger you don't believe them and think that it will never fly by for you like they say it will. Well, they're right, it does fly by. You go into your last season all excited and then all of a sudden there are only a few weeks left. When I was younger I would get nervous about practice all the time, especially after a loss. Now, I don't even care if it's a horrible practice or "death" as we say, I'm just happy I'm practicing. For those of you who know me well that is a strange sentence to see me write, I know. It's true though. I don't care if it is the hardest drills and the most running I've ever done, I'm happy I still get to do it for a few more weeks!
November 7, 2006
by Natalie
I'm a little late, I know and I'm sorry. The truth is I really don't have much to talk about. We lost a heartbreaker over the weekend to Pitt, which I don't really feel like discussing and we beat West Virginia in three on Sunday, but that really wasn't a win to brag about, soooo I think I'll talk about babysitting last night.
Last night Reed and Laura went out to dinner with TK and Jo. TK is Reed's good friend from UCLA who we went to Italy with this past summer. TK and his fiancée, Jo, are in town visiting for a couple of days. When I first got there R.J., Rex and I played football outside until the adults left. We spent the rest of the evening eating pizza and watching cartoons. That is until we decided to play "war." Rex and R.J. were on a team and Mia and I were on a team. I know, it's not very fair! Anyways we made bases for our teams and then found our weapons. We battled for a long time, diving all over the place, "shooting" each other, and saving our teammates, which I had to a ton of because Mia didn't understand the concept of staying in base. Everytime we got wounded we had to drink the "medicine," which was really juice, to save us. Well in the end I lost because the boys took over my base.
After we cleaned up and calmed down the kids went to bed and I studied for my exams that I had today. I also watched a little Monday Night Football. Oh I know what I can talk about now! The Colts are pretty much the best team in the NFL! We are all different fans, seeing as we are from all over the country. Noel roots for the Bears (who are no longer undefeated), many people root for the Bengals (who are like 4-4), Custer roots for the Broncos (who the Colts beat!), Jessie roots for the Falcons (who beat the Bengals ha!), and I root for the Colts (who are undefeated)! It's always fun to rag on each other for the teams we cheer for. Alright well I better get going now. Have a great week I will talk to you all later!