Spanish Springs alumni Lyndsey Anderson graduated from University of Nevada, Reno over the weekend. Anderson played volleyball for the Wolf Pack, where her mother played before graduating in 1988.
Born and raised in Sparks, Lyndsey Anderson graduated from University of Nevada, Reno over the weekend and is looking forward to having some time off this summer.
Anderson began the path to her college sports career in the backyard bumping a ball around with her mother Lisa (also a former UNR Class of 87-88 volleyball player) before joining her first team at Yvonne Shaw Middle School. She played throughout middle school and at Spanish Springs High School, getting more comfortable on the court. By the time she graduated high school, Lyndsey had led her team to a Nevada 4A State Championship, was named 4A Nevada Player of the Year in volleyball, and was regarded as one of the most decorated athletes of her 2013 class.
As she entered college at UNR, Anderson said her volleyball team struggled a bit in its first year, only clinching four wins, but continued to improve. In her last college volleyball season, the team finished with 19 wins, what she believes that it is the best the team has done in 10 years.
“I love where I’m from- it’s a tight-knit community where I always felt really supported and I had the best college experience (at Nevada),” she says. In college Anderson practiced every day for volleyball lifting weights and training and even stayed on-campus throughout the summer to work out with her team.
“A lot of people in the conference don’t do that,” she adds. “I’m really proud to finish (her college experience) on a good note and I’m proud of everything I’ve accomplished,” she says.
Just like her fellow Nevada alumni athlete parents, Anderson played volleyball from 2014-16 at Nevada, studying environmental science. Although she walked at graduation on May 19, she will be finishing up some classes for her community health science minor in the fall and will still be a presence at the games.
“I plan on being on the other side (of the court), just being a good alumni,” Anderson says. Like a lot of kids growing up, she thought about going away to college but as she got older she decided to stick close to home.
“It was important to me to stay close to my family and carry on the legacy. My mom going to UNR definitely influenced my decision,” she adds.
Her father and brother are also on the same path…her brother is a freshman at Nevada and playing on the baseball team, just like her father Scott Anderson who played baseball from 1986-88.
“My brother was like me and thought he was going to move away, but I think he also realized how nice it is to be close to family. I think attending UNR is the best thing for my brother,” she says.
Personally for her, Anderson’s transition into being a UNR alumni has not totally set in yet.
“I already miss volleyball; there was a good structure in what I needed to do every day. Now it’s all up to me in figuring out what my future is,” she says. However, she plans on staying in the area a bit longer to finish up her minor and then will decide what to do next.
Anderson admits that what she will miss the most about college volleyball is being part of a team. “I had friends who were going through the same things I was going through and we all worked towards the same goals. We had a special camaraderie…nothing else can replicate that outside of Division 1 sports,” says Anderson.
“It really has been such a blessing to have Lyndsey follow in my footsteps to play for the Wolf Pack in our hometown. Scott and I were really able to see her career unfold….although her achievements and athleticism were far greater than mine!” says her mother Lisa. “Coach Sandomenico at Spanish Springs High School played a huge part in Lyndsey’s decision to come to Nevada and I think it was definitely the right fit for her.”
We are immensely proud of Lyndsey’s dedication and how she handled herself as a student athlete. There are enormous demands on D-1 athletes and for her to get an Environmental Science degree while playing volleyball demonstrates her tenacity and competitiveness. We feel like she has been a great local role model and she has played a part in Wolf Pack volleyball achieving success again.”
Leave a Reply