Paige Whipple had a decision to make.
The back pain that had been nagging her for most of the Arizona Wildcats’ young volleyball season was getting worse.
And Whipple, a senior, was running out of time.
“It was just a moment of like, ‘I don’t think that (in) this moment in time, right now, me playing is worth a back injury — something that stays with people for their entire life,’” Whipple said.
“I had to evaluate the importance of what I was doing right now and wanting to play right now. That desire to play but also wanting to not put myself in a position to have long-standing injuries for the rest of my life, that was a tough decision. But ultimately, I was OK with it.”
Arizona (4-8) hosts rival ASU (1-9) at McKale Center on Friday at 2 p.m.; the teams will play against Sunday at 4 p.m. in Tempe. Both matches will be televised on Pac-12 Arizona. Friday’s match will also be on Pac-12 Networks.
Whipple will be on the court. She missed three matches over 10 days to rest her back, then returned to the lineup last weekend against UCLA. Despite her injury, Whipple is averaging 2.19 kills per set — the third-most on the team.
Whipple said she is “taking it day by day.” She is managing what she’s doing in practice and in the weight room.
UA coach Dave Rubio said he thinks it’s working as Whipple is playing at 80% to 90%. Wednesday’s practice was one of her best, he said.
“If you walked in the door and you compare what she had done last year to how she practiced, I thought it was probably one of the best practices physically that she’s had,” Rubio said. “I saw her move and jump and hit like the player that played last year.”
While resting her back, Whipple acted as another coach on the bench. The veteran said she knows Rubio’s coaching and personality; she even knows what he’s going to say before he says it.
“I think that sometimes (my teammates) received that feedback coming from me, maybe in a gentler way than then Dave might give it to them,” Whipple said. “I was just trying to be supportive and encouraging in the best way that I can, but also helping them with things that I saw, because I was seeing a lot more of what was going on the court from an outside perspective.”
Coaching could be in Whipple’s future.
She has been offered a job with Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Tucson to oversee a weekly high school student meeting.
She’s now thinking of coaching young children after her experience on the bench. Or she might take advantage of the free year of eligibility the NCAA is offering to all winter sports student-athletes.
Rubio said “the invitation is certainly there” for Whipple to play one more year, health permitting.
“I’m not sure physically she’s going to be able to do that depending on how her back feels, and I think that emotionally and mentally you just have to be in a good place, in the right place, in order to want to do that … to come back,” Rubio said.
Notable
- China Rai Crouch remains in the concussion protocol, and will not play this weekend.
- The Wildcats received a little scare earlier this week, when Akia Warrior fell ill. Teammates were contact-traced. Warrior’s PCR test came back negative.
“Everything now falls under the COVID protocol, right? I mean, you have a hangnail, and it’s like, ‘OK, I think you better be tested for COVID,’” Rubio joked.
This is the first weekend that parents will be allowed in the McKale Center stands. It’s been an adjustment for Whipple, whose mom, Taffy, attended nearly all her matches the last two seasons. Her family will be attending the Senior Day weekend matches against USC March 26 and 28 and the final weekend at Washington State on April 1 and 3.
“It has just been really different, but I know that they’re supporting me just the same regardless of whether they’re physically here or not,” Whipple said.
