Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 7, 1993 TAG: 9310070328
SECTION: HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS PAGE: S-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BRIAN DeVIDO STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The blonde senior is the captain of Patrick Henry's squad, which is 8-1 overall and 4-0 in the Roanoke Valley District. She was a first-team Roanoke Valley District selection last year as an outfielder for the softball team. She's a member of the Beta Club, the Key Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Young Life. She works for the student newspaper, she's started on the varsity volleyball team since her sophomore year and she has a 3.6 grade-point average.
Saying that she manages to stay busy is like saying Jerry Seinfeld likes to tell an occasional joke.
These days, Witten's talents are most in demand on the volleyball court. For good reason. The Patriots just beat defending district champion Cave Spring last week in what Patrick Henry coach Penny Williams said was "our biggest game of the year."
As usual, Witten was a big reason in the victory, even though she stands only 5 feet 7. She plays much bigger than her size.
And Witten loves nothing more than to get a perfect set from a teammate and watch the ball float in the air as she gets ready to do serious damage to her opponents. Witten is nice, no doubt - she'll gladly help a junior varsity player who's having problems setting or serving - but in the heat of battle, a different mindset takes over.
Witten becomes a killer.
"There's nothing I like better than killing the ball and watching the other team go down under the ball, try to get it up and not be able to," she says.
Says Williams: "She's the one that steps up and takes control of a game. She's the sparkplug of our team."
In a district game on Sept. 21 against Franklin County, Witten showed why she's so valuable to Patrick Henry. The Patriots struggled to win the first two games 16-14, 16-14. In the third game, Patrick Henry needed a middle hitter. Witten usually plays the outside hitter position, which mainly requires spiking the ball. In the middle hitter position, the player's main responsibility is blocking the other team's hitters.
Witten blocked. She dug. She passed to teammates. She did a little of everything. Patrick Henry won the third game 15-6 to take the match. Witten finished with seven kills, 10 passes and eight digs.
"She was spectacular," says Williams, who compares Witten to former Virginia Tech volleyball star Lisa Pikalek. "She was able to step up to the challenge."
It's Witten's ability to kill the ball, though, - to send it hurling and spinning toward opponents like an oversized ping-pong ball gone wild - that makes her dangerous.
"She has great timing, the ability to see holes, and then she can hit the ball there," Williams says.
That tunnel vision is something that has come with practice. About 20 hours a week, Williams figures.
"When she first started playing here, she couldn't serve overhand," Williams says. "She used to look right at the spot she'd hit it to. Now, she looks at the ball and serves a low, tough floater. She's also learned to jump serve."
As if the ball hasn't already taken enough abuse from Witten.
Witten said she hopes to play volleyball in college. She's been looking at Tech, James Madison University and Roanoke College. But until then, she'll be on the volleyball court, trying to help her team win the district title.
"Volleyball is just go, go, go all the time," Witten says. "It's an exciting sport to play."
by CNB