By Dan Messerschmidt

NEW WASHINGTON — Jenna Karl has received many accolades in her volleyball career at Buckeye Central High School and helped lead the Buckettes to the state Final Four this year, where the lost to eventual state champion New Bremen.

The recognition has paved the way for Karl to play volleyball at the college level and she will do so at Wheeling Jesuit University next fall. Karl signed her letter of intent, flanked by parents Scott and Traci, on Sunday evening at Buckeye Central High School.

“It feels awesome,” Karl said of the signing. “I am super excited to continue my career there.”

Karl will be going from a high school program with a deep-rooted volleyball tradition to a Division II college power. The Cardinals — members of the Mountain East Conference — were Division II National Champions in 2015 and made it to the Elite Eight in 2016. Head coach Christy Benner is in her 20th year at Wheeling Jesuit.

The BC standout garnered attention from several universities, but he choice came down to Tiffin and Wheeling Jesuit.

“A lot of (the decision) was really just getting away,” Karl said. “I really liked the campus and they had my major too, elementary education, so that was a big factor.”

Karl caught recruiters’ attention with her career statistics and her team’s successes. She piled up over 1000 kills and 1000 digs in her four years at BC and was named first team All-Ohio in Division IV this year. But according to her coach, Jackie Nye, Karl also has intangibles.

“She’s a great kid, a natural leader, somebody you can always look to to get the job done,” Nye said. “She’s always been, not only our go-to player, but the other kids look up to her as well.”

“It’s going to be different,” Karl said. “Their offense is a lot quicker, so it’s definitely going to be a change.”

“I’m really happy for her,” Nye said. “I know she’s going to do great things and it’s nice to see a kid like her be able to move on to the next level.”