Karen Martini spent a month bed-ridden, her surgically repaired right ankle throbbing and her left ankle — also ravaged by years of jumping and landing with force on a volleyball court — in pain as well.

Martini, who had spent 18 years as a girls volleyball coach, first at Mars and then at Seneca Valley, had a difficult decision to make.

She had to step away from the bench with the Raiders' girls volleyball team. At least for one fall.

Martini returned in the spring for her third season as the coach of the Seneca Valley boys volleyball team. She was excited about the talent on the roster and believed the Raiders had a real shot at winning a WPIAL championship.

But after two weeks of practice and one scrimmage, the season was scuttled by the coronavirus pandemic.

“It was really tough on everyone,” Martini said. “The kids really wanted their season. I really wanted the boys to have a chance to win a title. When the pandemic hit, not being able to be with the players and see them succeed was super hard.”

The hardest thing was yet to come.

Martini decided recently to resign as the boys coach, too.

She said she just couldn't do it anymore because of her bad ankles.

“What people don't understand is when I coach, I have to demonstrate,” Martini said. “I need to be out there jumping and moving and I can't do that anymore.”

Martini was a standout in high school at Brockway and then moved on to star at Edinboro University.

Her jumping ability set her apart from the pack. It was also what led to the physical problems later.

Martini has had seven surgeries alone on her left ankle.

“It's a hot mess,” she said, chuckling.

Her right ankle is much better now after the surgery, but Martini felt like it was time to call it quits.

“My heart was not in it anymore,” she said. “I didn't feel like I was giving them my best. They need a coach with a lot of energy.”

Martini helped the Seneca Valley girls volleyball team become a yearly WPIAL and PIAA contender since she took over in 2006.

After several near-misses, she led the Raiders to their first WPIAL 4A championship in 2016. Seneca Valley also reached the PIAA semifinals several times.

Sarah White, who will be a senior this fall for the Seneca Valley girls volleyball team before she moves on to Ohio State, said she will miss Martini immensely.

White and Martini had a special bond, cultivated while White was still young and just beginning the sport.

“She was a great coach who helped me become a better student of the game,” White said. “She taught me so much. I'll always be grateful for her for pushing me and helping me learn the game at such a young age.

“I'm going to miss her,” White added, “and the game of volleyball is going to miss her.”

The spring, Martini was confident that her Raiders' boys team would have made the WPIAL semifinals.

“I can tell you the four teams that would have been there,” she said. “Bethel Park, (North Allegheny), Shaler and us. Any one of us could have won it.”

They never got the chance to find out.

Martini's longtime assistant, Brett Poirer, is the girls volleyball coach now. She expects him to become the boys coach, too.

“Brett has been the best assistant you can possibly have,” Martini said.

Martini said the decision to leave volleyball behind was hard.

“Oh, I miss it like you wouldn't believe,” she said. “But I'm OK with it.”