Sarah Ammerman is on a level a little higher than most.
At 6-foot-2, the Chaparral senior can do things most of her peers can’t, such as, say, touch the ceiling flat-footed or see the dust on top of the refrigerator.
Because she can jump high enough to touch 10 feet, Ammerman can see over and around the blocks sent to stop her.
Oh, and she can hit the ball hard. Really hard.
“She’s pretty fluid, pretty smooth in everything she does,” Heritage coach Doug Schafer said of Ammerman. “She hits a high ball, and she just snaps really high.”
Ammerman will head up the attack for the seventh-ranked Wolverines this season as they look to navigate the deep Class 5A Continental League and get past the regional tournament for the first time in school history.
“I just have to prepare myself for any type of situation,” Ammerman said. “It’s having that mentality.”
That mentality is leading by example.
Already committed to Texas A&M, Ammerman has a 3.6 grade-point average and wants to major in journalism. She just began her third term as class president.
Ammerman’s club team finished 11th at junior nationals this summer, and she was invited to the Olympic Training Center.
Ammerman was born to excel at the sport.
Her father, Brett, and mother, Maria, were volleyball players in college. Ammerman’s brother Ryan is a redshirt freshman on the Cal-Irvine men’s volleyball team.
Born in Alaska, Ammerman has six brothers and sisters. Her grandparents, uncle and aunt live up the street in Parker, and the families often get together to socialize and – not shockingly – play volleyball in the backyard.
Ammerman “really lives by the motto of treat people how you want to be treated,” Chaparral coach T.R. Ellis said. “She never says an unkind word. She just lives that, which is the coolest part of her.”
Ammerman is especially cool on the court, even when opponents make such a concentrated effort to stop her. She attacks blocks like a stubborn burglar, going left, right, over and straight into the defense.
“If it’s not going her way, she’ll make an adjustment,” Mountain Vista coach Kevin Cary said. “She doesn’t get rattled.”
Said Ellis, “She has all the shots she needs.”
Says Ammerman, “I make changes here and there.”
Although cumulative volleyball statistics are about as trustworthy as crime figures released before an election, Ammerman’s kills were at or near the state’s best throughout last season.
One addition to Ammerman’s game is her focus on playing the defensive back row, considered a requirement for college leapers.
In addition to making her a better individual player, Ammerman wants to help give her team more ball control.
The Wolverines, 18-7 last season, graduated seven seniors, but overall experience has Ellis thinking the team will continue to move forward.
Chaparral should be stronger in the middle, have more attacking options and defend well behind better blocking.
Although Ammerman will be organizing fun stuff like prom for her senior classmates this season, her own course will continue to serve as an example.
Her goal is the state tournament. As a freshman, she was a setter before growing into a standout hitter who continues to push herself to the next level.
“I really jumped a hurdle,” Ammerman said. “I’ve turned a corner and I’m doing better.”
