Olympian Avery Skinner Talks Volleyball and School
By Ryan Clark
CHS Communications Director
Today, she will become the first University of Kentucky volleyball player to play as an Olympic athlete.
And she also happens to be an alumna of the College of Health Sciences.
Meet Avery Skinner, a 2021 graduate of the Communications Sciences and Disorders program. She helped UK win a national championship in her senior volleyball season. Now she hopes to lead the United States to another gold medal.
The team will kick off their run at 10 a.m. Monday, and in another twist, alumna Katy Poole (M.S., Athletic Training, ’13), who serves as a Senior Athletic Trainer for UK Athletics working with the volleyball team, has traveled to Paris as part of a group to support Skinner.
In the team’s last Olympic appearance in 2020, the U.S. Women won the gold medal. In 1984, 2008 and 2012 they won silver, while in 1992 and 2016 they won bronze. This summer, they are again favored to place in the top three teams in the world.
Find more information about times and how to watch Avery and the rest of the team here.
Back in 2021, Skinner was fresh off the national championship, and we caught up with her to find out more about the talented student-athlete.
What led you to UK and the CSD major?
I’m so happy with my decision. I think the biggest thing for me honestly, was just the coaching staff and it kind of gets repetitive, I think, but it’s just so true how much of a family this program is. It’s really not just about the volleyball. Everyone cares about you in school and as a person and the doors to our coaches’ offices are always open and they really mean it. I think that's really what helped us get so far. We all have gotten to know each other on a deeper level.
And CSD is Communication, Sciences and Disorders, and you can take two kinds of tracks with that, either speech language pathology, or audiology. I’ve chosen speech language pathology, so that’s what I’ll be getting my graduate degree in. My cousin Kennedy was born deaf. And so just being able to watch her progress from being born deaf and non-verbal, and then getting cochlear implants, and then learning how to speak and being one of the top students in her English class. Now, it’s just amazing to see that progression. And so that definitely is another inspiration and kind of fire that drives me to go further in this field.
You talk about your team as a family, and one of the things I hear a lot from students in CHS is how this college is also a family. Do you see similarities there?
I do. I love all of the CSD faculty members. They do so much for the students, and they really are there for office hours, extra office hours, advice on career, future careers, really everything. They care so much about us students. And I’ve seen that a lot. And then, even just with the students in my classes, I’ve gotten to know them well, and it's been different not seeing them in person, but it definitely is a family atmosphere. I really do love the faculty and the students so much.
I’m sure you hear this a lot. What do you tell people when they ask you why they should come to UK — either to play sports or for academics?
I think that Kentucky strives to be elite in everything that they do, whether it’s athletics, academics, regular student life, they’re aiming to be the best. And I think that if that’s a goal that you have, you’ll be supported here. And it’s something that I definitely didn’t necessarily know until I got here, but everyone here is so supportive, and they want you to succeed. And obviously it has to come from you as well. But I think the want to be elite is something that is super special about Kentucky.
U.S. Women’s Roster for the Olympic Games Paris 2024
2- Jordyn Poulter (S, 6-2, Aurora, Colo., Univ. of Illinois)
3- Avery Skinner (OH, 6-1, Katy, Texas, Univ. of Kentucky)
4- Justine Wong-Orantes (L, 5-6, Cypress, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska)
7- Lauren Carlini (S, 6-2, Aurora, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin)
10- Jordan Larson (OH, 6-2, Hooper, Neb., Univ. of Nebraska)
11- Annie Drews (Opp, 6-4, Elkhart, Ind., Purdue Univ.)
12- Jordan Thompson (Opp, 6-4, Edina, Minn., Univ. of Cincinnati)
15- Haleigh Washington (MB, 6-3, Colorado Springs, Colo., Penn State Univ)
16- Dana Rettke (MB, 6-8, Riverside, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin)
22- Kathryn Plummer (OH, 6-6, Aliso Viejo, Calif., Stanford Univ)
23- Kelsey Robinson Cook (OH, 6-2, Bartlett, Ill., Univ. of Nebraska)
24- Chiaka Ogbogu (MB, 6-2, Coppell, Texas, Univ. of Texas)
For the latest on UK Volleyball, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @KentuckyVB.