When Canfield’s Alexis Mettille decided to go out for volleyball in seventh grade, it wasn’t exactly a match made in heaven.

For one, Mettille was only going out for the team “for something to do,” and being the shortest player to try out, the sport didn’t seem like the right fit.

“I could hardly even serve the ball over the net,” said Mettille, now a senior for the Cardinals. “So, it took a lot of work.”

Five years later, Mettille and volleyball seem to be quite the match after all.

She recently signed her National Letter of Intent to continue her academic and athletic career at Bowling Green State University.

The 6-foot-1 Mettille, the school record holder for aces in a season (69) led Canfield in blocks in 2019 with 72 in 27 games. She also had 203 kills, and her hitting percentage (.431) was one of the best in the state, according to Canfield coach Maria Householder.

She, too, remembers how the younger version of Mettille almost didn’t play volleyball and how that same girl blossomed into one of the program’s greats.

“We have pictures. She’s one of the shortest ones, and now she just towers over everyone,” Householder said with a laugh. “Her strength and her speed are just crazy.

“And she works hard. She’s wanted it for so long. She wanted to go D-I. She wanted that full ride, and she’s worked hard for it.”

The senior middle hitter was a major force for the 21-6 Cardinals, who made a run to the regional final last month.

Householder, now in her sixth season leading Canfield, was able to watch Mettille’s growth from an undersized seventh-grader to one of the state’s premier hitters. She said Mettille’s overall athleticism played a big role, as well as her understanding of the game.

“She’s is definitely one of the strongest players that I’ve had ever come through,” Householder said. “We’re really going to miss her. That’s going to be a big hole in our offense.”

Mettille said much of her success is a result of her coaches and teammates.

She said they played a huge role in her progression. Experience was another factor. Mettille began taking the sport more seriously after entering high school and dedicated herself to improving. The more she played, the better she became at understanding how to take advantage of holes in the opposition’s defense.

“You just have to have to be able to see the court,” Mettille said. “As I’m going up to hit, I can kind of see where it’s open on the court, and I try to aim for that. My setter was really good, so I was able to always get good sets to where I was able to hit well and see where I was at. The passers always got it there for me, which was really helpful.”

She’s excited for the next phase of her career.

Mettille said she considered different colleges, but in the back of her mind, she knew Bowling Green was the right choice from the start.

“I was looking at other schools just to keep my options open and make sure it was the perfect school for me,” she said. “On my first visit, I honestly knew it felt like a place I wanted to spend my next four years and wanted to play for. The culture was so amazing, and that’s just what I wanted to be a part of.”