Sinclair Community College has seen a lot of faces walk through its halls. One face is back and it belongs to 24-year-old sophomore Brittney Wilburn.
Wilburn, who stands at 5’11”, has come back to Sinclair to continue her college education and to join the Sinclair Women’s Volleyball team. Wilburn plays both outside hitter and middle blocker for the Tartan Pride.
Wilburn came to Sinclair in 2002 to continue her volleyball career after graduating from Northmont High School in 2002.
“I came here after my senior year in high school and played volleyball,” said Wilburn. “I did well my first quarter and then in second quarter I did what any college student does. I started to blow things off.”
Wilburn’s grades were dropping and she was dismissed from Sinclair in 2003.
“That was very disappointing,” said Wilburn.
After Wilburn’s dismissal, she decided to go to work full-time. But over the winter of 2007, Sinclair’s Women’s Volleyball coach K.C. Gan ran into his former player and asked her if she would be interested in coming back to Sinclair. Wilburn liked the idea and enrolled for summer quarter and became eligible to play this fall for the Tartan Pride Women’s Volleyball team.
Wilburn is now majoring in Business Administration, taking all of her classes at the Englewood Learning Center. Wilburn also made the Dean’s List during summer quarter. She believes Sinclair provides a good atmosphere for its students.
“Even though Dayton is not the safest area in the world, I don’t feel like there is a security problem,” says Wilburn. “I think it’s friendly here. It’s nice that we have so much food to choose from, too.”
Wilburn knows she is the most experienced player on the roster this season. Her experience along with determination has her ranked 36th in the country in kills per game. Wilburn isn’t the only player on the team that has been nationally recognized this season.
Freshman Jessica McCann leads the nation in digs per game while sophomore Lindsey Bruns ranks 25th in blocks per game and 26th in kills per game. Sophomore Shannon Wade is also ranked for assists per game.
“To have four players ranked nationally for all of these things, obviously, there are great possibilities for this team,” says Wilburn.
Wilburn believes that this year’s team has a lot of potential and that they do have their problems like every team.
“We need to get the experience,” says Wilburn. “Eventually, it’s going to work out. I have a very good feeling we’re going to regionals.”