Sept. 16, 2016
By Anita Nham, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Freshman Kendall White never really thought about playing volleyball when she was younger. She thought she was too short in comparison to the other players on the court. However, that all changed when her older sister, Sloane White, got recruited to play volleyball.
"My older sister played volleyball at College of Charleston in South Carolina," White said. "She's a lot taller than me, so when she was about 12, she was recruited to play volleyball and I went to all of her tournaments. I started playing volleyball because of her when I was eight years old and just fell in love with it from there."
Ever since the 5-foot-five freshman stepped on to the volleyball court for the first time, she has been making a name for herself on each court she's ever played on. During her four years of high school at Cathedral in Indianapolis, Indiana, she was a four-year letterwinner and concluded her career with a school-record 1,546 digs. She led the Fighting Irish to a 36-0 record as well as the Class 4A state championship in her senior year as the team's libero and captain. This was the first Indiana 4A team to have an undefeated season. In addition, in 2015-16, she was selected as the Indy Star Player of the Year, Cathedral's High School Female Athlete of the Year and Indiana's volleyball Gatorade State Player of the Year.
"My high school season was amazing," White said. "They helped me so much going into [Penn State's] team because that was probably the best team as a unit I have ever been part of. We were all so happy together and we used each other's personalities differently and each other's strengths so when someone was messing up, someone would rise to the occasion. That's helping me a lot here because that's exactly what the team needs - we need people to rise to the occasion when other people aren't rising to the occasion. We need to work on team unity. We all love each other so much on this team, and we're all really good friends, and I think it's awesome. I think we can develop our team unity like that team did, and we can fight back in games and tough situations and just move on to grow as a team."
The Nittany Lions are only eight matches into the season, but White has already started to become a staple in the back-row for Penn State as she wears the opposite colored-jersey in each match as the starting libero. In the season-opener, White made a phenomenal collegiate debut, leading the team with 16 digs against West Virginia.
"You'd think it would be overwhelming at [Rec Hall], but with all the people in there, I loved it," White said. "I absorbed the energy. I thought it was amazing. I thought the crowd and cheering made me want to perform better and being surrounded by all my teammates…It was awesome - I enjoyed it so much."
This season, she already leads the team with 106 digs and recorded a career-high of 22 digs in the match against Stanford. Even though White holds a smart court presence, she believes that she still has a lot to work on for this season.
"I want to do whatever is possible for the team in order to win," White said. "I'm going to go out there no matter if I'm playing bad or if I'm playing well to make sure I keep the energy high and help the team through attitude because I think we can use that no matter what the situation is. Specifically, I just want to work hard on defense and be the top defender this weekend, hopefully, and the season, but I have to get better in order to do that."
None of this would have been possible without the help of her teammates, especially the upperclassmen. They're there for her 100 percent of the time, and they're all constantly helping all the freshman get adjusted to not only the volleyball court, but also to classes, the professors, campus and everything else.
"I like playing with Kendall a lot," junior Lainy Pierce said. "She's taken up a huge role as a freshman and I think she's carrying herself really well and playing a really good game right now…She really cares about this program, and would do anything for it. I think she's a true leader."
Besides being a defensive specialist for Penn State, White is known to her teammates for her bubbly personality, which helps the team in many ways on the court.
"I think Kendall is really loud, and that's kind of her tone," Pierce said. "She's not afraid to speak her mind, which is great to have somebody like that on the court, but she also knows where she stands and who she is on the team, and we need a leader like that this year."
Outside of volleyball, White loves to use her energy by talking, hanging out with friends and meeting new people. When she has time to herself, she's binge watching "Gossip Girl" on Netflix, and when the season is over, White plans to volunteer at a nursing home like she did in high school.
"My grandma used to be at a nursing home, and I loved visiting her. I love helping elderly people and being around them, so that's definitely something I want to do in my future," White said.
But right now, White's focus is on Penn State volleyball, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
"[My experience] has been great," White said. "The girls are amazing and the level of competition that we play at is awesome. It's exactly what I wanted an exactly what I came here for. I love it."