BLACKSVILLE — When you know, you know, and when Clay-Battelle senior volleyball player Caitlynn Patterson toured nearby Waynesburg University, she knew.
“Coming from a small school, I wanted that small, tight-knit aspect and Waynesburg gave me exactly what I wanted,” Patterson said after signing with the Yellow Jackets Friday afternoon. “They were welcoming and after spending some time with the volleyball team, I realized that’s where I belong.”
Patterson started playing volleyball in fifth grade but did not start thinking about continuing into the college ranks until her junior year of high school.
“I knew that college was always a possibility if I wanted to go that far and work, but it wasn’t until my junior year that colleges started reaching out to me and I realized I really could go and play at the collegiate level,” she said.
Patterson served as a team captain for the Cee-Bees in the fall. The team defeated South Harrison to win their second-consecutive section title this past season and Patterson is the second C-B volleyball player to sign to play in college this year, joining classmate Isabel Lapoe, who signed with Mid-Atlantic Christian University last month.
“I think after Clay-Battelle won our first sectional title my junior year is when colleges really started looking into our team and seeing the talent we have, especially in the senior class,” Patterson said.
Patterson said she had interest from a few colleges, but once she heard from nearby Waynesburg, located just 20 minutes north of the high school, she knew where she wanted to go.
“I got a lot of offers going into the summer of my senior year and I started talking to Waynesburg in roughly October,” she explained. “As soon as I talked to them I knew that’s where I wanted to be, so it was a super-easy choice.”
Patterson said she will be a pin hitter at Waynesburg, playing as either an outside hitter or a right-side hitter.
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