JACKSON TWP — Tori Fowler is back out on the volleyball court again.

There's a spring in her step — and the familiar spring when she goes up for a kill.

It hasn't always been like that for Fowler.

Not for a long time.

It started two years ago when she landed awkwardly on her right foot. Her ankle buckled and she missed the entire season with the Pitt Elite club volleyball team.

Then last season before a scrimmage, she came down on a teammate's foot during warmups and dislocated her left ankle.

“I was in a wheelchair at one point,” said Fowler, a right-side hitter for the Seneca Valley volleyball team.

She missed the season.

But she was still there at every practice and at every game.

She used it as fuel.

“Being there made me miss it so much that I wanted to be so ready to play this year,” Fowler said. “I went through 10 months of physical therapy so I could be ready to go.”

The coronavirus pandemic threatened that this year.

Fowler was racked with worry that a virus could do what two serious ankle injuries couldn't — keep her off the court.

“Those were the big thoughts going through my head,” Fowler said. “If we don't have anything happen, I would be so frustrated with the way things ended at Seneca.”

In June, she was finally able to return to the team and she has stayed healthy since.

At 5-foot-8 and with the ability to jump, Fowler has given the Raiders another weapon at the net.

“During her sophomore year, she was breaking into the starting lineup,” said Seneca Valley coach Brett Poirier. “Her on the right side is really going to help us. She has really good hands and a little bit of experience. With her and (three-time all-state performer Sarah White) together, that's huge for us.”

Fowler isn't taking anything for granted.

Even with the COVID-19 restrictions, Fowler is just happy to be wearing the Raiders' uniform again.

“Any time I feel like complaining about having to wear a mask at practice or anything else, I just think I'm so thankful to be playing right now,” Fowler said. “There's really nothing to complain about. Just the fact we are getting a season right now, I'm so thankful.”

Fowler began playing volleyball in the fifth grade.

She shared that passion with another: figure skating.

Fowler competed in that sport and was also a performer in theater performances on ice such as “The Incredibles” and “Ghostbusters.”

Fowler said she was never an elite figure skater, but she enjoyed it all the same.

“I loved it,” she said. “From a young age, I always loved watching the Olympics and the figure skating. I wasn't on that Olympic level, but I was up there.”

Eventually, though, the grind of figure skating and volleyball simultaneously became too much for Fowler.

She had to choose one.

“I'd have to get up at 5:30 a.m. for skating practice and then go to volleyball practice after school,” Fowler said. “For a 12-year-old, that was a lot.”

So she chose volleyball.

“I loved that sport even more than I loved skating,” she said.

Now, she's feeling healthy again and feels like her game is rounding into form.

“I definitely feel it took me some time to get back to where I was,” Fowler said. “I feel like by August I was better than ever. This is the best I've felt since my sophomore year.

“I ice after every single practice and game,” Fowler added. “I'm not getting hurt again.”

Fowler said she is looking into the prospects of playing at the next level.

She wants to major in biochemistry. Eventually, she hopes to become a pediatric physical therapist.

Fowler developed a love for that while she was going through her rehabilitation from both ankle injuries.

“I would peek into the other room where they did the therapy for children and infants and I really developed an interest and love for it,” Fowler said. “I know I was upset with the injuries at the time, but it helped me find my passion for something I want to do later in life.”