BUFFALO TWP — Sarah Hettich has always towered over her classmates.

“I've always been the tallest girl in the room,” she said.

It stood to figure then that Hettich would naturally gravitate toward a sport like volleyball, where her height is a huge advantage.

But that wasn't the case for the 6-foot-3 Freeport senior, who only started playing the sport in the eighth grade at the urging of her friends.

“I never really gave it much thought,” Hettich said.

Things didn't start out well for Hettich, either.

As a freshman, she was cut from the Yellowjackets' team.

It didn't deter her.

Now, after a standout career as a middle blocker with Freeport and a PIAA Class AA title on her resume, Hettich will continue her volleyball career at Wittenberg University next season.

Wittenberg has one of the top Division III volleyball programs in the country. The Tigers are coming off a 25-3 season and a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

Wittenberg won a national championship in 2011.

Not bad for a player who wasn't sure if she'd ever play a varsity set at Freeport.

“I only had a year under my belt (before my freshman year) and I still liked volleyball a lot,” Hettich said. “I focused on getting better. I think that's where I get the work ethic I have today.”

Hettich dove head-first into the sport, working on her quickness and agility.

She found the perfect spot to enhance her skills with the Pittsburgh Elite volleyball club, where she still plays.

“She had the desire,” said Freeport volleyball coach Tom Phillips. “She went to Pitt Elite and made herself a desirable commodity. She developed. She's just an imposing force.”

The highlight of Hettich's career came as a junior.

Freeport lost in the WPIAL final to Beaver, but used the defeat as fuel to power it to a state title.

“I look back on it and it was absolutely incredible,” Hettich said. “Coming from where I started, I never thought it would happen, that I'd be on a state championship team. It's still so surreal.”

Hettich was geared up for a big senior season, but suffered a severe ankle injury against rival Knoch in mid-October.

Freeport was already trying to overcome key injuries to Tori Radvan and Haley Graham.

Hettich thought the worst when the injury occurred.

“When I got hurt when we played Knoch it kind of crushed me,”Hettich said. “I thought my season was over and I would never put on the Freeport jersey again.”

But like Hettich had done when it came to improving her volleyball skills, she committed completely to treating the injury.

“During study hall and lunch I'd get treatment,” Hettich said. “It was a really bad sprain and I missed five weeks. Even when I came back I was never really healthy.”

Hettich did come back, though, playing for the first time against North Catholic in the state quarterfinals.

Freeport won an epic five-set match and Hettich's presence was a big factor.

But she clearly wasn't at full strength and the Yellowjackets lost to Bald Eagle in the semifinals.

“She was like a car that had a flat tire,” Phillips said.

Hettich, though, is singularly focused now on improving to play at Wittenberg.

Juniata College was also in the mix.

Hettich said several Division I schools were also interested, but she ultimately decided Wittenberg was the best fit for her.

Hettich plans on majoring in business and pre-law. She said her education was the most important part of her decision.

But getting the opportunity to play volleyball was also important to her.

“I couldn't really imagine myself not playing,” she said. “It was tempting to go to a Division I school, but I quickly realized I wanted to focus on academics. Volleyball isn't going to be my life forever.”