Travel Update: VB’s Whitney Follette And The Pac-12 All-Star Team

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TEMPE, Ariz.—Arizona State volleyball’s Whitney Follette and the Pac-12 Volleyball All-Star Team wrapped up the first leg of their trip through China on Sunday, and Follette had some insights from their stay in Sanming.

China is awesome! Volleyball wise, we are 3-1! We have played Fu Jian, a pro team from China, three times, and the Chinese Junior National Team once. We are working well as a team and are all digging deep to find energy to execute our game plans.

The crowds and fans are super enthusiastic about us being here, it's hard to go anywhere without taking a picture with the locals. There is also a good amount of people at our games, which provides us with a lot of energy to feed off of. They cheer loud for both teams and tend to get really excited over digs and defensive plays, which gets us all going and striving to hit harder. 

We are staying outside of the city of Sanming, and it's pretty rural. The mountains and scenery are very beautiful! A few of us went on a little hike up to a temple and saw some Buddhas and the more cultural and spiritual side of China and the people. 

Seeing the way many of these people live makes me appreciate our life in America a lot more. I notice myself taking for granted the little things like water, toilets, food, and air conditioning; this trip is totally broadening my perspective. Let's just say I have never been so excited to eat McDonalds.

We head to Beijing tonight to compete some more and to see some more sights like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, which I have been looking forward to! 

I am super impressed with my team and their high spirits even if the food isn't what we're used to and the traveling is incredibly draining! They are a hilarious and hard-working group of women, which makes the tough times a lot easier to get through as a team! It's been a joy thus far, can't wait for Beijing!! 

Keep an eye on Pac-12.com for more updates from our time in Beijing!