Princeton's Paul will play volleyball at NCWC

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on April 30, 2014 1:48 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

PRINCETON -- Four years ago, Tori Paul seemed destined to play either softball or basketball in college since she played both sports during her entire four-year career at Princeton High School.

But Tuesday, surrounded by her family and friends, Paul signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at North Carolina Wesleyan. She had played that sport at the varsity level for just two seasons.

"It's just a fun game," Paul explained her change of heart. "It's very enjoyable (to play)."

Until this season, Paul had pretty much decided to play softball in college. But she realized playing volleyball increased her options and Wesleyan began to show more interest. She has the option to play softball for the Battling Bishops, but isn't sure if she will, because of the time it would take to play two sports and do schoolwork.

The 5-foot-6 outside hitter said her choices came down to Lenoir Community College, where teammate Savanna Massengill signed; St. Andrews and NCWC. Paul anticipates playing the same position in college.

"(I chose Wesleyan) because it's a small school and the environment is kind of like here at Princeton," Paul said. "The coaches stayed in touch with me all throughout the year and asked if I was leaning towards them or not."

Princeton came within one game of reaching the state finals each of the past two seasons. Head coach Paige Renfrow speculated that coming that close may have made Paul realize she wasn't ready to give it up.

Or maybe it was just the sheer fun of the game. Renfrow said Paul is one of the most positive players on the court and always plays the game with a smile. She never gets down on her teammates and never shows her frustration with herself.

Paul joins a youth-filled Battling Bishops team that featured nine freshmen, one sophomore and two seniors last season.

"I think that group will benefit her," Renfrow said. "She will step right in to the competition."

One of the things Paul loved about playing at Princeton is how close the team was. Seeing the youth of the N.C. Wesleyan team made Paul think she could find that same closeness in her transition to college.

Paul plans to major in exercise science and has simple goals for what she wants to improve on.

"I want to jump higher and hit harder," she said.