Skinn was prepared for elite college career

Looking back, Josie Skinn was always prepared. From playing for a defense-driven program at a small high school to putting in long hours to play on a travel volleyball team, Skinn was in a strong position to succeed at the next level. With a goal of playing on a competitive collegiate team, Skinn, a 2022 St. Paul graduate, did that and then some at NCAA Division II Fairmont State University. She helped the Hawks to an 88-46 record (.656 winning percentage) and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in four seasons. Along the way, Skinn also became one of the most decorated players in program history as a libero. "I wanted to play in college at a program that was competitive, but one where I could also make a difference and a name for myself," Skinn said. "Going into it, I had an open mind. "My freshman year, I knew there was a senior libero, and I would be behind her. But I loved playing for Coach (Travis) Hinkle with my teammates, and I took that opportunity to learn as much as I could. It kind of just went from there." Where it went was to the best of the Mountain East Conference. Skinn became a three-time MEC first team selection and was twice named the league's Libero of the Year in each of the past two seasons. Further, Skinn is the first volleyball player to be a three-time All-American at the Fairmont, W. Va. school. She also became the all-time leader in career digs at Fairmont State, which ended at 2,218 total. "I never expected the personal accomplishments; I just knew I wanted to be on a team that had a chance to win the big matches," Skinn said. "That was something always on our minds in my four years there. "We wanted to be the team that people expected to win and be a contender every time we stepped on the floor." Living four hours from home, Skinn said her experience beforehand made the transition to FSU much easier. "My experience is a lot different from most kids here because there is such an emphasis on club volleyball, obviously," she said. "I was used to the insane schedule because I didn't play club locally but out of Cleveland." That meant commuting four days per week, including an hour each way for practice, along with plane rides for certain tournaments. "I was used to the time commitment," she said. "College life was the adjustment of doing it yourself. Obviously there is a support system, but it's still your first time being an independent person. "It's a lot more of a workload mentally to figure out how to support and give myself confidence rather than relying on my family — because they couldn't be there." On the court, Skinn's biggest adjustment to a star career was the entire aspect of serve receive at the college level. The critical skill of passing an opponent's serve accurately to set up the offense going the other way relies on many fundamentals that Skinn was also fortunate to have. "It was something we really emphasized at St. Paul because we didn't have a lot of size," Skinn said. "I had the fundamentals going in, but everyone is bigger and stronger in college, and serve receive is the name of the game." Skinn admits she struggled with serve receive early on in her career. "It doesn't get the recognition with the numbers, but the first thing I checked after every match was how many serve receive errors I had," she said. "That was something that by my last year I was really able to improve on, and every year I saw improvement. "That was important to me and something I'm very proud of." As a freshman in 2022, Skinn was second on the team in digs (268) and aces (32) in helping the Falcons reach the NCAA tournament with a 29-6 record. In 2023, Skinn finished her sophomore season with 632 digs and was MEC first team and first made the All-Region and All-American teams. She also earned Div. II ADA Academic Achievement honors as well as making the MEC Commissioners' Honor Roll. As a junior in 2024, Skinn had 656 digs and was the MEC Libero of the Year and a first-team selection. In her final season this past fall, Skinn ranked fifth nationally in total digs (662) and 12th in digs per set (5.47). In the MEC tournament, she became the program's all-time leader in the defensive stat. The Hawks finished 23-11 and saw their season end in an NCAA Atlantic Regional tournament match against IUP on Dec. 4 in Erie, Pa. Skinn again earned Atlantic Region first team honors and repeated as the MEC Libero Player of the Year. More awards followed last month, starting with an All-American as an honorable mention selection by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) on Dec. 10. Two days later, on Dec. 12, Skinn earned third-team All-American honors from the Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA). The College Sports Communicators then announced the 2024 Academic All-District teams on Dec. 16, with Skinn again representing Fairmont. To qualify, an undergraduate student-athlete must have at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average and must compete in 90 percent of, or start in at least 66 percent of, the institution's matches. Skinn, who has one more semester before graduating with a major in biology and a minor in business, was selected as a CSC Academic All-America finalist and will advance to a national ballot to be voted on by CSC members. She plans to begin dental school in the fall. "I'm proud of it, yes, because I worked really hard," Skinn said. "But I had a great team around me to make these individual awards possible. I can't do my job without everyone else doing theirs. "There were all the extra reps or watching film just to learn and take in all the information I could use in my own game, but that recognition feels like a validation of that.: At St. Paul, Skinn was a four-time All-Firelands Conference selection, including twice to the first team and once to the second team. She finished with 1,256 career digs for the Lady Flyers, who won three conference titles in that span. She was also an All-Ohio honorable mention as a senior and finished as the Class of 2022 salutatorian. "I think volleyball gave me a confidence that I didn't think I'd ever have," Skinn said. "I think because I was able to find success personally but also see it in my teammates throughout my career in high school and college. "It just created this confidence within me that I'm good at something, and I know it can transfer into other things," she added. "It also gave me a stronger backbone. I can take criticism now and turn it into something that is a positive or a benefit and not just focus on the negative side of that."