She has worked hard since graduating and has developed from not being the top player on any of her college teams to being an Olympian! Her sister, Madiesn (University of Texas) was also in the pool of players during the VNL process so we may see the sister duo together in the 2028 Olympics.
Baylor Volleyball’s Avery Skinner Named to U.S. Olympic Team
This will be Skinner’s first appearance at the Olympic Games, and the first Bear to be named to an Olympic indoor volleyball roster.
An outside hitter, Skinner made her USA Volleyball senior team debut at the 2022 Pan Am Cup, where she earned the Best Spiker and Best Scorer awards while the team earned bronze. She was also on the 2022 Pan Am Cup Final Six squad that earned silver. Since then, she has played in the Volleyball Nations league with the Red, White and Blue, playing in weeks one and two in 2023 as well as the VNL final, where the team earned fourth.
In this year’s VNL, she has played in both weeks one and two, recording notable matches against the Dominican Republic in week one and Bulgaria in week two.
The Texas native played at Kentucky from 2017-20 and spent her fifth year with the Bears in 2021. She was an All-American at both institutions and won the NCAA title with the Wildcats in 2020.
The women’s indoor volleyball competition at the Paris Games begins July 27 and finishes on August 11. They will be held at the South Paris Arena, located nine miles south of the Olympic village.
The U.S. women won their first-ever gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Overall, the U.S. women have won three silver and two bronze medals in the sport.
Fans interested in purchasing tickets for the upcoming Baylor Volleyball season can visit BaylorBears.com/Tickets. All seats are general admission for volleyball in the Ferrell Center. The Bears will host 19 home matches, including three non-conference tournaments, starting on August 30 with Abilene Christian for Future Bears Day.