JEFFERSON TWP — Celina Sanks meant many things to the Knoch volleyball team this season.

Dangerous attacker. Deft blocker. Efficient server. Solid defender.

She was also a leader on and off the court.

That all added up to Sanks being named Butler Eagle Girls Volleyball Player of the Year.

Sanks beat out Carly Shearer of Slippery Rock, Gabriell Carney of Butler and Zoe Pawlak of Freeport for the award, the first player of the year for volleyball named by the Butler Eagle.

“It means a lot because I put a lot of hard work into playing,” said Sanks, a senior middle hitter who is heading to Division I Eastern Kentucky University to play next season. “It also means there's been a lot of good players alongside me.”

Sanks was a dominant force this season for the Knights, who lost in the WPIAL semifinals to Freeport, but advanced to the state playoffs for the first time since 2003.

Sanks averaged 16 kills per match and topped the 20-kill mark three times.

She also had 33 kills in a marathon five-game win over Freeport toward the end of the regular season.

Knoch coach Diane Geist, who has spent 28 seasons with the Knights, is having a hard time coming up with more superlatives to describe her graduating star.

“Pressure never got to her,” Geist said. “She thrived on the pressure of a big game.

“The one thing about her was it was always about her teammates,” Geist added. “It was never about her.”

Sanks was playing out of position during her senior year.

More natural as an outside hitter, Sanks played in the middle where blocking is almost as important as the attack.

She excelled at both.

“In the middle, blocking is definitely very important,” Sanks said. “The angles for hitting are also different. The angles have to be sharper and the hits harder.

Sanks had no trouble adjusting, however.

Before the season started, she set to paper a list of goals and she achieved or surpassed just about every one of them.

“My goals were to win the section title, get to the playoffs and have a 30-kill match,” Sanks said. “We got to the state playoffs, too. Getting there was awesome because I got two extra weeks of practice and playing with my team.”

Geist said Sanks leadership on the court was also invaluable.

“She was like a coach on the court,” Geist said. “She's just so smart about it.”

Sanks said her knack of knowing just the right thing to say to her teammates developed over time.

“What I say or do really depends on how they are feeling,” Sanks said. “I try to get them pumped up, light a fire.”

Last week, Sanks officially signed with Eastern Kentucky.

It was one more rite of passage for the star who is looking forward to starting the next chapter of her volleyball journey.

“It was a relief, even though I knew I was going to go there for a while,” Sanks said. “Everything is set and falling into place.”