University of San Francisco Athletics

When it comes to seniority, there is nobody who can hold a torch to Emily Reed on the USF Volleyball team.  As the Dons only senior, a lot of leadership responsibility falls on her shoulders and she has taken it in stride. "Emily handles adversity and she is loyal," USF head coach Vicki Brown said. "One thing I'll always remember is when players were leaving the school, she heard about it and just said, 'ok, well, we're moving forward so what's next?' She didn't mellow in it very much which meant that nobody else could either."

Reed is vital in all aspects of the team's performance as she is the team's second leading attacker with 281 kills while also ranking third on the team in digs with 163. 
The senior has played in every set so far this season and is making it count by posting career-high numbers in kills, digs and assits. 

"We've asked a lot of her," Brown said of her lone senior. "She's approached each rep thinking, 'how can I make this work? How can I make this transfer into a set?' Her communication along the passing line causes a relaxed feeling in her teammates especially since this is her first year really stepping into the outside, six-rotation position."

Reed, who comes to USF by way of Sunnyvale, California and Homestead High School, also represents USF in Sand Volleyball. The Liberal Arts major will be honored before tonight's game against Pacific at 7 p.m. inside War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

"Know Your Dons" is an ongoing feature on USFDons.com designed to personalize the student-athletes of the University of San Francisco – meet #8 Emily Reed.


Student Life
Favorite spot on campus: Grass hill outside the science building
Favorite class: Arts for Educators
Hardest class: Qualitative Research Methods
Favorite place to study on campus: Kalmanovitz Hall pop out rooms!
Balancing the demands of school and your sport: As long as you stay on top of school work it makes playing a whole lot easier
What experience made the biggest impact on you in the classroom?: In any of my classes putting in hard work and seeing the work pay off by good grades constantly encourages me to continue to work hard
The best thing about USF is: The small community feel in the athletic department and having teachers work with you when we miss a lot of classes
What does "Change the World From Here" mean to you: Bringing your hard work ethic you learned at USF with you wherever you go
 
Pop Culture
Favorite TV show: Grey's Anatomy
Favorite movie: Bridesmaids 
Last book you read: …Something for class
Favorite singer or band: Country music!
What's on your iPOD: Absolutely nothing, I listen to Pandora
 
Team
One thing you are always working on: Passing 
One skill of one of your teammates you wish you had: Ability to cheer loud for myself 
Pre-game rituals or superstitions before events: Make sure my socks match, eating anything, and just listening to music and laughing with everyone 
Funniest teammate: Kate Ashman or Shannon Levinson (A.K.A Kannon)
Favorite bonding moment with your team: Any time we travel: bus rides, hotels, airports
 
Sports
Favorite sports teams: San Francisco Giants and San Jose Sharks
Favorite athlete: Buster Posey 
Favorite athletic memory: Watching the Giants win the World series in 2014 and going down to the Civic Center to celebrate with teammates
My second-best sport: Soccer? 
Sport I'm the worst at: Basketball
Earliest sports memory: Playing soccer with the purple people eaters 
First sport you ever played: Soccer
 
Food and Travel
Favorite meal: Sloppy Joes
Favorite ethnic cuisine: Tacos
Favorite snack food: Cheese and crackers 
Guilty pleasure: Coffee ice cream and molten macaroon cakes (both from Trader Joe's so they are healthy)
Least favorite food: Anything spicy 
If I had to cook all of my meals, I'd survive on: Microwave brown rice and Trader Joe's orange chicken 
Who is the best cook on the team: Dane Miller
If stranded on an island, what would you bring with you: Bikini & sun screen
Most interesting place you've ever visited: Galapagos 
Place you'd most like to visit someday: Antarctica 
Favorite place in San Francisco: AT&T Park
Describe your perfect day in San Francisco: Hot and spending it at the beach or exploring with friends 
 
This and That
Hobbies: Baking
Pick three words to describe yourself: R,B,F lol but really.. 
Early riser or night owl: Early riser 
Person I'd most like to meet: My great grandma (Sweetheart Grandma)
Talent I wish I had: Singing or dancing 
Role models: Mom
My parents were right when they said: "You can do this." -- My Mom
Moment in my life I'll always remember: After any win or loss I've ever had, that my mom was at, going and giving her the biggest hug. The look she gives me when she's just so proud of me 
In 10 years, I'd like to be: Teaching at an elementary school…hopefully married, too
If I could trade places with someone for a day, it would be: My lazy dogs
Three people from history you'd like to have dinner with:  William H. Taft, Pocahontas, and Cleopatra   
Pet peeves: Shaking legs, not changing the toilet paper, not putting your clean dishes away, complaining about every little thing, being rude for no reason
Cats or dogs: Dogs! 
Best advice you've ever received and who was it from: If coach hits a ball at you and you shank it, take a step up because he's going to hit it even harder at you – Mackenzie Murtagh 
Describe your perfect day: Spending the day with my family probably at my house by the pool, just enjoying the company of loved ones. 
 
In your own words, describe the student-athlete experience at USF:
 
To me this experience has been nothing but amazing and hard work.  I've had the pleasure to work towards getting a master's degree and teaching credentials while playing sports, which isn't easy.  I have loved being able to take the bus anywhere in the city, that makes exploring really easy.  The diversity in the city is amazing too, going from the Mission District, to Sunset, to the Wharf, to the Castro you get so many different people from different walks of life.  And the small community in the athletic department is great; the administration genuinely wants everyone to succeed at a high level.