Sports
Page turns a new chapter
Tyler Ohmann
03/20/2012
Whitney Page is attending the University of North Dakota.
That may not surprise people in the Bottineau area because most of them know that basically Page’s entire family from her brothers to her parents are alumni of the Grand Forks university.
However, what may surprise them is that Page is going to be walking on the UND volleyball team next season.
The Region 6 Senior Athlete of the Year in volleyball from Bottineau High School is taking her talents to the Red River.
“My grandma is down there and she goes to every volleyball game, and all the sports games,” Page said. “And my brothers have gone to UND, and my parents, so UND is in the family.”
Not to mention that playing volleyball there has always been her dream.
“I’ve always wanted to play for UND even though it is kind of out of my league a little bit,” Page said. “I went to camp, and I really liked their coaches, so once they asked me I thought, ‘what the heck, why not?’”
Page said the coaches were impressed with her at camp, and had kept an eye on her throughout.
“They had known me before, and when I went to camp they said that I was athletic enough, and that I had a good attitude,” Page said. “So, they were willing to give me a chance, and they know that I’ll work hard at it.”
Her former high school coach Sienna Bullinger is both excited for Page and interested to see how here career progresses at a Division I institution.
“I think it’s amazingly exciting that Whitney has the opportunity to play at UND — I know it was a place she really wanted,” Bullinger stated. “She is such a well rounded player that UND will be getting someone who would be as at home in the back row as she would in the front row. It’ll be interesting to see where they do decide to play her.”
Bullinger also has no doubt that Page will work her tail off at UND.
“Whitney is the kind of player who will work hard everyday and give her all, so I do know that they’ll be getting a very dedicated and self-motivated player,” Bullinger stated.
Page finished her BHS career with 818 kills, 443 digs and 320 blocks, while serving up 86 aces with an 87.7 percent save percentage.
As to where she thinks she’ll play, it might be outside hitter. Her main position in high school was middle hitter, but Page said she’s comfortable playing anywhere on the court.
“I did play all the way around in high school, so I still have that skill,” Page said. “Since I’m a middle, I’ll probably move to outside.”
Page was also an accomplished basketball player (All-District as a senior), and as well as a state pole-vaulting champion during her sophomore season.
However, Page believes volleyball is her best chance to play in college, plus UND has the right program for her academically.
“I’ve always really loved volleyball, and that’s always kind of been my strongest sport,” Page said. “I wanted to give it a try, because I didn’t want to look back in a couple of years and wonder why I didn’t think I should have.”
“I had some opportunities to go to junior colleges, but with my degree, which I’m choosing to be an engineer, it just didn’t work out,” Page added.
As a senior Page finished with a team-best 353 kills and 91 blocks, she was also third on the team with 239 digs, and served 38 aces at an 89.9 serve percentage.
Page is very excited for the opportunity to escape the high school mind set, and get to play with some other dedicated players.
“The practice I know will be really fast, and I like it like that,” Page said. “The games are really intense.”
“In high school it’s kind of hard because not everybody takes it as serious as you do, or doesn’t like it as much as you, so it’s getting everyone ready before games,” Page added. “But in college it is something you do yourself, and everyone is there for the same reason, so I’m excited for that.”
Page isn’t sure how long the dream will last, however, as the rigors of the engineering program, along with being a Division I athlete can put a lot of stress on a student.
“I’m going to try it, and if it doesn’t work out it’s not a big deal, it’s just something that I wanted to do,” Page said. “Being an engineer I know that school will probably get really hard, so I probably won’t end up playing all four years, and it’s not like I have to since I’m not on scholarship.”
If nothing else, Page can say she carried on the family legacy at one of North Dakota’s most beloved institutions.