‘Underdog’ volleyball star skips final HS semester to get a jump on college career

BY JEFF VORVA

Downers Grove’s Bella Potempa was fully aware she was going to miss out on some fun.

Downers Grove’s Bella Potempa headed to college early to get a jump on her academic and volleyball careers.

The Timothy Christian High School volleyball standout made an important decision. With enough credit hours under her belt, Potempa had the opportunity to skip her final semester in order to start taking classes at Tennessee Tech University and to work with her new volleyball teammates.

When she moved to Cookeville, Tennessee, in January, she realized that she was going to miss out on senior activities. At the time, prom was a question mark, but the good news for Potempa was that the semester at her college would wrap up before Timothy Christian’s graduation in Elmhurst.

“I’ll be able to go back to my high school and walk and receive my physical diploma,” she said in January. “It will be a nice experience.”

Potempa was taking 13 credit hours of work while spending time getting acclimated to college life and life on a Division I volleyball team. It was not a decision she took lightly.

“I didn’t want to give up my senior year in high school, but it was something I needed to do,” she said. “Being as driven as I am, I have goals that I set for myself. This is where the grind starts. If I were to come here in August, the season would have started right away. I wouldn’t have had a chance to prove myself.

“I want to start off as strong as I can and be built and well-rounded to play against these 20-year-old girls that I may be going up against.”

The 5-foot-7, 17-year-old outside hitter said she always felt like she was an “underdog” in the sport. She said she was told she would not be a Division I player.

“My whole life, I’ve been told ‘I can’t,’ I won’t,’ It’s not going to happen,’ and ‘You’re too short.’”

– Bella Potempa on being perceived as an underdog in the sport

“My whole life, I’ve been told ‘I can’t,’ I won’t,’ It’s not going to happen,’ and ‘You’re too short,’’’ she said. “Yes, at times it was hard to hear, but I’ve learned to bite my tongue and take it with a smile.”

She was able to smile 13 times as she said she had 13 DI offers to mull over.

Bella Potempa said she is making her college volleyball career a priority and has been working with Tennessee Tech since January.

While making a Division I roster proved doubters wrong, that’s just not good enough for Potempa. She wants to make an impact in the sport in college and beyond.

“This is my priority right now,” she said. “I have accepted that this is what I want to do. Volleyball is my passion and my life.”

Potempa said that one of the first things her new coach, Jeannette Phillips, did was ask players to describe themselves in one word. Potempa chose the word “determined.”

“I have always been a go-getter, and I’ve been a driven athlete,” she said. “I’m the oldest in the family, so I set the tone, I guess. I wanted to play collegiate volleyball, and my goal was DI. I still have aspirations to play after college and play professionally. But I’m taking it one step at a time.”

In her senior season, Potempa racked up 359 kills and 280 digs, so she was dangerous on both ends of the court. She was an all-state selection by the Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association.

Since 2022, Potempa has earned a long laundry list of accomplishments, from the all-state award to several all-tournament team selections and all-area recognitions. She also tried her hand at track and was a two-time state finalist.

She is making a name for herself in a family that features accomplished athletes. Her father, Brian, played three sports at Moraine Valley Community College and Millikin University. Her aunt, Bonnie Kraemer, played softball at Northwestern and Eastern Illinois University.

Her younger brother, Ethan, is a budding hockey star, and Bella is making it her mission to inject some of her determination into his mindset.

“I tell him he has to keep up with his sister,” Bella said of Ethan. “I tell him ‘you can’t let your sister beat you.’’’