JACKSON TWP — Since she can remember, Angela Seman has been a libero.

And a pretty good one at that.

She came to Seneca Valley High School as a freshman from St. Alphonsus school in Wexford and quickly grabbed a starting job for the Raiders’ volleyball team as a defensive specialist.

“She came in and made her presence known on the court,” said Seneca Valley volleyball coach Karen Martini. “She was a fighter from the start.”

That fight has never gone away.

Seman came in knowing few players on the team. One of them was her older sister, Catie.

That made her work even harder to show she belonged on the court.

“I wanted to prove myself,” Seman said. “I wanted to show I was not someone to be messed around with.”

For three years, Seman hasn’t messed around, either, becoming one of the best liberos in the state — she was named to the all-state team after a standout junior season.

She is fearless and tenacious.

“Even if she’s tired or hurt, she comes in every day and gives 110 percent no matter what,” Martini said. “That’s what you need at that position. You need a player who is willing to do anything to help you win.”

Her moxie sometimes comes at a cost to her well-being. She is often banged up and there is rarely a time when Seman doesn’t have a bruise or a welt somewhere on her body from violent collisions with the floor while making a clutch dig.

That’s her job, she said, and she’s going to do it no matter the cost.

“It’s always a grind,” Seman said. “Your job is to keep the ball off the floor. I just think to myself, ‘I’m not letting the ball hit the floor.’”

This season, though, she may be putting the ball on the floor.

Seman may move to outside hitter this season — a major role reversal for the senior, who already has committed to play volleyball next season as a libero at the University of Pittsburgh.

She found out about the potential switch two weeks ago.

“It’s a really big change,” Seman said. “I’ve been working in practice on my arm swing and blocking.”

It’s been a crash course in Hitting 101 for Seman. She had a pretty good example to watch in Catie, who was an all-state hitter herself at Seneca Valley and is now excelling at the University of Rhode Island as a sophomore outside hitter.

Seman also has a unique insight that may help in the transition.

“As a back-row player, I kind of know where to hit the ball to find the gaps,” Seman said. “I kind of know how they think, so I think that will help me.”

Seman said she will likely switch back and forth between a hitter and a libero, which may also turn her into a quick-change artist. Liberos are required to wear a different color jersey than the rest of the team on the court.

Her likely replacement at libero when she is at the net: her freshman sister, Isabella.

Angela Seman had some simple words of advice for her younger sister.

“Go out and never let anyone older than you push you around,” Angela Seman said. “I’ve been helping her with mental toughness.

In her last season in high school, Angela Seman desperately wants to see the Raiders rebound from a 2012 season where they missed the playoffs.

“We’ve been working hard every day to try to erase that mistake last year,” Seman said. “As a senior you just want to prove to everyone that you’re the top gun.”

That kind of leadership has impressed Martini, even more than Seman’s obvious physical talents.

“I’m expecting big court leadership from her,” Martini said. “She has what it takes to lead this team to the playoffs.”