23 saint francis magazine | spring 2025 Paige (Fortkamp) Schmitmeyer (BSN ’24) knew she was closing in on the University of Saint Francis 2000s-era volleyball record for kills. In fact, she was all but guaranteed to break the record on the night of Nov. 2, 2024. She also knew she would feel at least a twinge of bittersweet emotion because the Cougars were playing at Bethel University in Mishawaka, Indiana, three hours away from her family in her hometown of Fort Recovery, Ohio. RIGHT BEFORE WARMUPS BEGAN, HOWEVER, THE SWEET OVERWHELMED THE BITTER. “I saw my mom walk in with my little cousin and my cousin’s friend, and that made me emotional,” Schmitmeyer said. “I started crying, I was so happy to see my mom there.” With mom watching, the record fell—after one false alarm. Paige went up for an attack and hit a ball for the record kill. Everyone cheered, and coach Scott Haddix was ready with a timeout to celebrate. Then, the call was overturned and the ball ruled out of bounds. No record. A few minutes later, the record kill came off a set from her younger sister, Teigen. “I didn’t think my mom was going to come because three hours there and back is a long time, and I have three other siblings, so it’s not always possible for my mom and dad to come to everything,” Schmitmeyer said. “Her being there meant a lot. They brought balloons and flowers, and it was very nice.” Kill No. 1,473 gave Paige the record, breaking the Dakstats/ PrestoSports statistical age mark set by Allison Horn from 2000 to 2004. Needing five kills to break the record, she finished with 11 that night. Her career total was 1,489. (The overall Saint Francis record is 1,706 by Katie (Butler) Schumm from 1998 through 2001.) Haddix praises Paige for her leadership, dedication, desire to improve and ability to play despite often being less than 100% healthy. He said she was one of the most dynamic players across the NAIA landscape. “I would never bet against that kid,” Haddix said. “She was the Michael Jordan of our volleyball program. She took the game- winning or losing swing when we needed her to. More times than not she scored, but succeed or fail she wanted that swing again and again and again. That was a lot of pressure, and she handled it very well.” Paige was part of the basketball and swimming teams at Fort Recovery High School, but volleyball has always been her top sport. She chose Saint Francis because of its nursing program and graduated with a BSN degree in December. She is now in her “dream job” as an obstetric (OB) nurse at Adams Memorial Hospital in Decatur, Indiana, about 40 minutes from her hometown. “I always wanted to go into nursing,” she said. “When I was a high school sophomore, my cousin had triplets, and they were preemies up in the Dayton NICU and I was over there a few times and enjoyed the nurses there. I wanted to go into nursing and NICU. Now that I’m grown, I don’t want to be in the NICU, but I still want to be in nursing. My dream was to be in OB labor and delivery, post-partum. I find everything about it fascinating.” SCHMITMEYER LOOKS BACK ON HER TIME WITH THE VOLLEYBALL PROGRAM AND HARBORS GREAT MEMORIES. “Every season has just been so fun with my best friends and fellow seniors. We grew up together from freshmen to seniors,” she said. “Senior Day was really nice with the way the juniors and underclassmen hosted everything and gave speeches and shared video. I enjoyed every minute of playing here. I’m ready to move on, but it was a big part of my life, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.” “She was the Michael Jordan of our volleyball program.” Scott Haddix Head Volleyball Coach Photography by Chad Ryan and Tim Brumbeloe
