North Dakota middle blocker Faith Dooley still has another season on the volleyball court, but the senior-to-be is making plans for her future on the hardwood after that. Dooley announced Thursday that she plans to lend her blocking skills to the Fighting Hawks basketball team after her final fall campaign.
Dooley has made a name for herself stuffing opponents to the tune of 476 blocks, just 12 away from UND’s career record, which was set in 1991. She also owns three of the top five single season blocks marks.
In 2016, Dooley chipped in a team-best 1.17 blocks and 2.58 kills per set (third on the team) as North Dakota went 26-10 en route to the Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament titles and an NCAA Tournament berth. That blocking tally included a 13-stuff effort at Idaho State, including 12 block assists, both of which rank as school record marks. The junior also put up four solo stuffs against Idaho, matching her own school record mark in that category.
All of that followed a sophomore season which featured a team-high 1.28 blocks per set, 2.91 kills per set and team-leading .316 hitting percentage, and a rookie campaign with 2.67 kills and a team-best 1.37 blocks per set.
In all, Dooley has played in 103 matches, starting 99, registering 1020 kills (2.72 per set) and 477 blocks (1.27 per set). She currently boasts a career hitting percentage of .308, the second best in Fighting Hawk history.
The crossover to the basketball court was a no-brainer for the 6-3 Dooley, who was an all-region honoree in basketball and volleyball as a prepster at Central Cass High School in Casselton, North Dakota. She was the state’s runner up for Miss Basketball and led her team to the Class B championship game, registering 21 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks per game as a senior.
“It was always in the back of my head since I came in as a freshman, but I knew for sure that I wanted to play after I talked with (UND head women’s basketball coach) Coach Travis Brewster about it,” Dooley told undsports.com. “I have missed playing basketball, and though I might have a little rust to knock off, I’m excited to play. This summer will be a little bit different from years past, because I will be able to practice some with the basketball team before I fully start volleyball for my last season this fall. I plan to work out some and play some with the girls this summer, but I will be focusing on giving my last season of volleyball all I have first. Long term I will need to make sure I am taking care of my body, so that it is healthy for putting it through two college sports seasons. I am excited to play basketball and continue competing as a Hawk.”
Dooley will graduate in December, completing her bachelor’s degree in three and a half years. She will have two years of eligibility remaining on the basketball court. Dooley plans to split time this summer training with the volleyball and basketball teams.
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