Aiming for the Big Dance

Sometimes she hears it from her friends at school. She stopped checking her e-mail long ago, leaving hundreds of notes from collegiate volleyball programs unanswered.

Two weeks ago, the 17-year-old shortened her list of potential colleges to four, including the UA. Still, there are few times the Salpointe Catholic High School senior does not think about where she will attend college next year.

"It happens a lot in class," said Dosty, the Star's 2005 Southern Arizona Player of the Year. "My mind wanders. Sometimes I think about it a lot, then I go, 'I just don't know,' and I stop thinking about it for a while."

Picking a college is a heady decision for any high school senior. But few of Dosty's classmates have so many people waiting for an answer.

"I think the average kid trying to pick a school can just focus on the schooling and the education part of it," Dosty said.

"But if you're going to school for volleyball, or any other sport, you have to look at how they're going to teach you and the players and the coaches and after college, if you want to keep playing."

The whirlwind of emotion is enough to make any athlete a bit nervous. But consider this — Dosty, a former ballerina, did not start playing prep volleyball until 17 months ago.

Since then, she and her family have scrambled to learn all they can about college volleyball. With a father and sister who have been through the basketball recruiting process, Dosty has guidance.

Still, the question hangs in the air like a set at the net.

"I know it's there," Dosty said. "It's something I can't really put off. I try not to worry about it too much."

But at the same time, Dosty says, "I don't want to make a mistake."

Watch Dosty practice with her Club Cactus Volleyball squad and you see a physical specimen — a 6-foot-3-inch jumper who is a full head taller than anyone else on the team. Drills when opposing hitters try to spike on Dosty are fruitless — the ball soars past the end line or smacks into the net.

Dosty soars through the air effortlessly, and you remember where she came from. She is an accomplished ballerina, having attended camps at the American Ballet Theatre, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and the Dance Theater of Harlem.

At 13, Dosty left for a summer at the American Ballet Theatre in Manhattan at 5-foot-7. She returned 6 feet tall.

"Unbelievable," said her father, Robbie, who played basketball at the UA from 1978 to 1981."We almost didn't recognize her."

Dosty played volleyball in seventh grade, but it took a back seat to dancing.

The Dostys did not begin to consider volleyball until former Wildcats assistant basketball coach Jerry Holmes talked to Robbie, a player Holmes had recruited at the UA.

Holmes is close with the UA volleyball program and saw promise in Dosty.

"He's probably the most influential person in her volleyball career so far," Robbie said. "He knew what she had the ability to do.

"It was something I never would have thought of."

Dosty started playing during her junior year at Salpointe Catholic. She changed her plan of skipping her senior year at Salpointe to dance.

Her older sister, Sybil, a sophomore basketball player at Tennessee, said her sister's development has been staggering.

"I always tell her that it's unfair that I had to work since I was 7 or 8," whereas Whitney's results came quickly, she said.

Whitney has narrowed her list to the UA, UCLA, Florida and Texas. She will visit Texas on Friday.

But really, Dosty could go anywhere.

"She could be a tremendous player," said Joe Lantagne of Lantagne Appraisal, a recruiting service with 130 collegiate subscribers. "She's one of the top 10 athletes I've seen in the last five years.

"She has the physical ability to play pro until her mid-30s, if she chooses."

Dosty's inexperience does not detract from her attractiveness as a recruit.

"She doesn't have bad habits; that's one good thing," Lantagne said.

That raw talent has to make coaches salivate.

Per NCAA rules, UA coach Dave Rubio can only confirm he is recruiting Dosty. Dosty's club coach, Steve Walker, is a UA assistant coach and could not comment.

Dosty said she is comfortable with the UA program, but that location will not be what motivates her decision. Her sister thought the same way two years ago when she was a prized basketball recruit.

There are differences between the two — Whitney keeps a little more to herself than her sister.

The younger Dosty is more comfortable hanging out at home.

"I think it'd maybe be harder for her to leave than me," said Sybil, who was wooed by the UA after being a ball-girl as a child. "She's more quiet, but I think she'll be successful wherever she goes."

There's also the sport itself. A former basketball player, Robbie Dosty was able to look at Sybil as a scout would.

"With volleyball, I'm more of an observer," he said.

He is learning the game as quickly as Whitney is.

"There's so much to know," she said. "It's still new and fresh."

Signing day is April 12, but Dosty hopes the decision won't take that long.

"I'm trying to take my time and make a good decision," she said. "Hopefully, more sooner than later."

The final four

Salpointe senior Whitney Dosty, one of the best volleyball recruits in the country, is considering four schools.

Name 2005 NCAA Final record run rank

UA 25-6 Elite Eight 7

UCLA 20-11 Sweet 16 15

Florida 33-3 Elite Eight 3

Texas 24-5 2nd round 16