Personal Narrative: Samantha Seliger Swenson's Life

College sports are very fun to watch when they come on. Especially when the games or events are at the decisive moments. Me personally I love to watch college volleyball, because it helps me change the way I play. Samantha Seliger Swenson was born February 4, 1997 in Minnetonka, Minnesota to Vicki and Erik Seliger Swenson and she is one of my favorite collegiate volleyball players . When Sam was young she experienced what teamwork really was after watching her mom coach players that were working together and pushing each other to get better every day. Also when Sam was young she lost her Aunt Teri Lee who was murdered by her ex boyfriend. This came after the loss of her uncle who passed away a couple years earlier due to a car crash. These events really motivated her to work hard and be the best she could be. The Seliger Swensons added on to their household 4 orphan cousins as a result of the passings of her aunt and uncle. They had rooms full of beds in their house and Sam said “It felt there was just one big bed big because all the beds had been so close together.’’ It wasn’t long before Vicki’s High School team contacted a show that improves on houses. The tv show agreed and expanded their three room house to a seven room house with 5,600 square feet. That was big enough for all the kids and parents.
Along with playing school volleyball, she played club for Northern Lights Volleyball Club where her mom was coaching as well. In high school Sam earned three all state honors,five time all conference selection, and three time all metro first team. She also holds 8 school records, was named MVP all 4 years. Broke three state records, a career high in aces, and was a three time distinguished athlete.
Seliger Swenson graduated from high school early so she could play spring volleyball with the Golden Gophers where she played the role of the primary/ first setter of the team.
Sam earned a second team AVCA All American, AVCA North Region Freshman of the year, and received a goldy gopher award, while averaging 11.80 assists per set. Her set average was ranked ninth nationally and second in Big Ten. Starting every set as a freshman, only missing one set out of a 128 total sets. Her first collegiate game was against Texas A&M where she had 31 assists. Established a career high in assists of 59, and her first collegiate double double with 15 digs against
Louisville.
The accolades continue when she was named All Tournament at the Diet Coke Classic. After getting 113 assists to a hitting percentage of .388 she was named Freshman of the week. Another freshman highlight was her career high of 4 blocks against #1 Penn State. Sam made her first NCAA appearance as well as her first Final Four appearance in Omaha. The Golden Gophers finished 4th in the NCAA tournament and 1st in BIG Ten. Sam will be a sophomore next year and I’m looking forward to watching her have another great year.