In eighth grade, Whitehall's Kyle Sommers was looking for a sport to play after he was cut from another team.

Sommers turned to volleyball, a sport he admittedly didn't know much about its particulars, however, he was soon on his way to having a steady, stellar career with the Zephyrs.

"After a few days at volleyball, I realized I was in a good situation," said Sommers. "But I wasn't a big athlete and I had to stay in shape. I quickly knew I also had to work on my footwork and deal with the speed of the game."

A year later, Sommers began to grow accustomed to his new sport, and his team struggled through a 2-14 season. He eventually took over the libero position.

"We didn't have a good season and I had trouble with my serving," added Sommers. "I began to have less and less service errors against myself. I also began to improve on my footwork. Before, I used to be a slow as a slug.

"I feel pretty good about everything right now."

Head coach George Cowitch has watched his play develop over the years.

"He (Sommers) has been one of our best defensive players, and has kept us in games this year," said Cowitch. "He has a lot of pressure on him playing libero and has come through in tough spots for us."

Sommers, who has evolved into one of the senior leaders on the squad, sees his club piecing it all together down the line.

"So far, it has been a little rocky with some ups and downs," said Sommers. "But we are looking to peak at the end of the season. We think we are heading for the best part of our season.

"We have some chemistry here that we can build on."

Whatever the final outcome, Sommers will continue his academic career next year at Juniata College, where he will pursue a career in biochemistry. Knowing Juniata has a high profile Division III volleyball program, Sommers will entertain playing at the intramural level.

"I would love to work in a lab someday," said Sommers. "I may also like to be a chemistry teacher someday. Juniata has a very good program, and I would have trouble competing there.

"But I love to play volleyball and I would look to play intramurals."

With four years nearly behind him, Sommers realizes he made the right choice.

"When I played basketball, I would get tired of playing it after a while," he said. "That doesn't happen with volleyball. I'm playing, managing the girls' team, playing in tournaments during the summer, and playing club volleyball during the winter.

"I never feel like I'm getting tired of volleyball."