Some athletes find themselves continuing the sport they love at the collegiate level. Freshman biology major Dayjah Whyte recently finished her first season with the University of Dallas volleyball team, where she plays as a middle blocker.
“When I was in seventh grade, my best friend kind of forced me to play in a recreational league with her and since then that was the only sport I played,” said Whyte.
Whyte graduated from Round Rock High School this past May, where she had lettered two years in volleyball. While there she earned 1st Team All-District and Academic All-District honors, as well as a Leadership Award.
“My high school team was very competitive, so I was used to working hard all the time,” said Whyte. “When I came to UD it was no surprise that I had to use the same intensity.”
While at Round Rock, Whyte balanced her studies and volleyball; she was a team captain and earned a 4.0 GPA Award. She continues to balance her studies and volleyball at UD, a task many student-athletes strive to accomplish.
“It wasn’t very hard [in high school],” said Whyte. “We were given a study hall period that allowed us to study with our teammates and finish our homework.”
Whyte has now played in 32 matches, starting in 30 of them and 14 of them being conference matches. She has recorded 15 assists, 76 digs, 47 blocks, and 773 attacks, posting a .279 hitting percentage for the season. She has also earned 318 kills and 370.5 points while playing her first season with the program. Whyte has also tallied several awards this year, earning 1st team All-SCAC, SCAC Newcomer of the Year, and 2nd Team USCAA All-American.
“My initial impression was that we have so much potential to grow as a team and be even better [next year] than we were this season,” said Whyte.
Second year Head Coach Kelli Trautmann inspires Whyte and others to go out and do their best on the court.
“Coach Trautmann tells us to put all of our effort out there on the court and have fun,” said Whyte.
Finally, Whyte commented on some of her goals with the UD volleyball program before graduating.
“Before graduating I would love to have the opportunity to go to nationals with the team.”
With three years of volleyball left, Whyte is looking forward to helping the team achieve her goal of reaching the national championship tournament.
