Completed Event: Volleyball versus California on November 28, 2025 , Loss , 2, to, 3
/
Final
Volleyball
2
vs California
3
Volleyball Senior Profile: Emily Sklar
12/17/2015 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
GoDuke.com caught up with senior outside hitter Emily Sklar to reflect on her Duke career.
GoDuke.com: What place on campus do you consider a hidden gem?
Sklar: Any good restaurant in Durham. I went to the Mary Lou Jazz Club for the first time and there were a bunch of people studying there and it was just super cool. I didn't realize I actually liked jazz music till I went there.
GoDuke.com: What's next after graduation?
ES: After graduation I plan on playing abroad somewhere in Europe or maybe Puerto Rico. I've yet to decide but hopefully it'll be someplace not too cold.
GoDuke.com: What's been your proudest academic achievement at Duke?
ES: I'd say ComSci. I took that a year ago in my junior fall. I took it because I thought it would be applicable to any job. I thought it would be cool if I could code, but it just was not a language that I understood. I didn't realize that until a third of the way into the semester. You can't really do anything at that point, so I stuck with it and thankfully survived with a B. I looked at it over Christmas break and I convinced myself it was a Christmas miracle that I got a B in that class. My stepsister is a grade below me and she's at Wash U which is big in engineering. She took ComSci 101 at the same time I did. I hated it and she loved it. She decided that she loved it so much she was going to switch her major to ComSci.
GoDuke.com: When did you start playing volleyball?
ES: It's a random story. When I was younger, I was really into soccer and thought I was going to play soccer in college. I was really into Mia Hamm, so I thought I'd go to UNC and play soccer there. I was always sent to volleyball camps just to get me out of the house. My freshman year, volleyball tryouts were the first few days of school. I was in the lunch line and the athletic director was in cafeteria and saw me heads above the crowd. He was like, “You're tall. Why didn't I see you at tryouts today?” I was like, “I don't play volleyball.” He said, “We have two more days of tryouts, you should come." I told him I had soccer practice, but he told me just to come to the last day and we'll see how you do. I came to the last day of tryouts and I had no idea what I was doing. They put me on the freshman team because I was tall. I was a middle that year. Pretty much from there on out, I loved volleyball and that was it.
GoDuke.com: What has playing for Duke meant to you?
ES: When I visited, I loved the school. It's kind of hard to describe the feeling, but I just knew immediately that this was it. This is where I wanted to be. When I told everyone I committed, it was such a big deal to everyone. It wasn't really until I was signing that I realized how big of a deal it was that I was going to get to go Duke. It's a place that so many people get to go to; barely anyone gets in. And I get to play volleyball here and do what I love.
GoDuke.com: What's your favorite road trip memory?
ES: I'd have to say Stanford last year. The volleyball wasn't super great. We didn't really get the outcomes we were hoping for, but that was my home trip for me even though it was my junior year. My whole family came out. My old high school coach made the team come. I had tons of fans and some of my friends' parents came. That year, Stanford was No. 1, so just having the opportunity to play a team that's the best in the country at the time was just an amazing experience.
GoDuke.com: What's a lesson you've learned through Duke volleyball?
ES: I think something I've been working on a lot more this year is patience. It happens a lot in the spring too when you're trying new things and everyone wants it to work right away. But it doesn't always work right away and sometimes you have to just suffer through the process of trying new things and eventually one day it works really well and you're grateful for all the time you spent on it. I'd say patience. I'm not a very patient person, so definitely have to take that with me.
GoDuke.com: What legacy do you hope to leave for future Duke volleyball players?
ES: Volleyball wise and competition, we talk about being a team that nobody wants to play. Most teams and schools kind of hate Duke anyways, but just the idea of another school seeing you on their schedule and thinking, “I can't believe we have to play Duke twice. That sucks that we get that draw.” That's something that happens with us with other schools, but it's really exciting to think that someone doesn't want to play us either because we're that good and that can't do anything against us or we have so much energy they just can't do anything. Off the court, just hoping that everyone understands that you don't have to love everyone on your team, but that no matter what that everyone on your team has your back. It's a very family environment. If anything were to happen to anyone on my team, I would be there for them in a second no matter what, even if we were fighting in practice that morning. No matter all the negative things that may happen, you have that family.
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballAndie Smith, Duke | Interview | CGN
Thursday, November 13
Out Here in Miami For Thanksgiving
Wednesday, December 04
Camera'd Up with Grace Thrower
Saturday, November 16
Big Lo on the Mic
Wednesday, November 13
