AOTW: Kadyn Osborne ends her collegiate volleyball career with a victory over Simon Fraser
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - After four years on the court, the time has come for Kadyn Osborne to call it a career.
Osborne, who was honored along with the rest of the seniors on Saturday, said it was hard to keep her emotions in the rear view as UAA approached a 3-0 sweep against Simon Fraser to conclude the season.
“We were at 23 points and I could just feel the tears coming,” the Dimond High graduate said. “Right when we hit 25, they just started flowing.”
The 2020-21 Alaska Volleyball Gatorade Player of the Year joined UAA last year, much to the delight of her father. Osborne had spent the previous two seasons at Eastern Arizona College.
“To be able to see all her home games for the most part and travel a little bit, it’s been great,” said her father, UAA men’s basketball coach Rusty Osborne.
“I decided it was time to come home, and I think it’s one of the best decisions I could have made,” Osborne said.
To say she was missed is an understatement.
Osborne finished with the team lead in assists in both 2023 and 2024. She carved out a role as the main setter for much of the Seawolves attack strategy. In her final match against SFU, Osborne led the way once again, finishing the night with 21 assists to her name.
“We were really happy that she chose to come back to Alaska,” UAA volleyball coach Stacie Meisner said. “She definitely left her mark and really helped us these last two years as a primary setter for us.”
It was only fitting then that her last play in the Alaska Airlines Center was exactly that.
Needing just one point to finish the job against the Red Leafs, Osborne set up a kill opportunity for teammate Katie Birtcil. The result was a game ending blast, celebrated by the entire crowd as the team embraced one last time.
“It’s probably the best possible way you could end your career, with your girls on the court,” she said.
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