With her family by her side, Sarah Combs signed an athletic scholarship Wednesday afternoon to leave her parents’ side and play volleyball at the collegiate level.

She might be leaving her family, but she isn’t going far at all.

Combs will begin her journey as a collegiate athlete at Judson College in the fall, a reality she couldn’t have predicted at the beginning her senior year. Right before volleyball tryouts began, Combs wasn’t going to try out because she wasn’t sure she would make the team.

Even when Combs went to try out for Morgan her senior year, she was still skeptical she would make the team. A few weeks later, she was named the captain of the team.

Combs and her father, Paul, said her high school volleyball coach, Caroline Averitt, played an integral role in allowing Combs to realize her talent.

“That was the turning point for Sarah playing volleyball was Coach Averitt’s encouragement that she could be way more than a water girl,” Paul said.

At the end of the season, she was named the lone all-star on the Senators team.

Judson volleyball head coach Cynthia White, who was in attendance to watch Combs sign with Judson, said it was Combs’ positive attitude that gave her confidence Combs would be an asset to her team.

While White noticed Combs’ athletic abilities when Combs came to visit during a tour in September, she also saw in Combs someone who was willing to put in the work to make a difference.

“For me it’s most important. I personally would rather have a player who’s going to work hard and have a good attitude that’s teachable than someone who thinks they know everything,” White said.

Paul said his daughter is a competitor and has no doubt she will make a difference on the Judson squad.

“She’s going to hang in there through thick and thin. Good and bad. And she’s coachable, so that means a great deal,” Paul said. “She is willing to listen to whatever the coach tells her to do, and that’s always valuable.”

Although Combs is competitive, she doesn’t let her emotions take control of her play on the court. It’s one of the qualities that allows her to stand out among the crowd.

Combs said that’s just who she is.

“I’m always nice. I never seem to get mad at anyone,” Combs said.

Lori Ann, Sarah’s mother, said she is glad that her daughter will be close to home. But even when Sarah is away from home, Lori Ann plans to still be by her side.

“We will not miss a home game, not if we can help it,” Lori Ann said.

“And I’m going to be traveling to those away games too.”