By Nicholas Huenefeld

Special to the Sentinel-Tribune

Now-graduated Bowling Green High School volleyball player Kate Suter, who overcame a season-ending knee injury just before the start of her junior season, will take her talents to Defiance College this fall.

“I got an email from the coach, went on a visit, and I immediately loved it,” Suter said.

Suter, a middle hitter who recently helped lead Bowling Green to an 11-11 record this past year, joined the varsity squad as a sophomore, jumping straight from the freshman team.

As a junior, however, she suffered a torn ACL in a scrimmage and ultimately missed the whole season while serving as a student coach.

“She was a tremendous player, really finding her groove,” co-head coach Deb Mathias said of Suter’s sophomore campaign.

The road back from injury had its suspected hurdles.

“I think at the beginning (of her senior year), she was just a little unsure of herself, not knowing how to deal with coming off the injury and trying to make her way to the point where she was full go out there,” Mathias said.

As time went on, Suter got more comfortable and earned an offer from Defiance.

“Once it clicked, she was back to full speed again,” co-head coach Jeremy Koehler said. “It was like nothing ever happened.”

Suter will be heading to a Defiance program undergoing some exciting changes as Jeremy Thornburg takes over as head coach while the Yellow Jackets also transition from Division III to NAIA beginning this fall.

“It’s been a lot of fun, pretty emotional,” Suter said. “I’m leaving my friends, but I’m ready to move on and do new things. I’m excited to see where life takes me.”

Her now former coaches at BG are confident in her ability to make an impact there.

“She can get up on the block, she can hit a ball, she can do everything she needs to do defensively and offensively,” Koehler said. “She’s confident in her ability, confident in her leg, knows that she’s back on stable ground.

“She’s locked in and focused and ready to make a difference for Defiance.”