GROVE CITY — Jordyn Wyllie takes her sports seriously.

How seriously? Maybe a little bit too zealously.

Wyllie played so much volleyball last year, whether it was for Grove City High, at camps or in Junior Olympics, she broke two vertebrae in her lower back.

“It happened from overuse,” said Wyllie, a junior for the Eagles who also includes basketball and track and field among her many athletic activities at the school. “I just played volleyball too much.”

She played most of her sophomore volleyball season in tremendous pain. It was so bad at times that she could not even bend over to pick up the ball to serve.

Finally, Wyllie waved the white flag and saw a doctor, who diagnosed her injury and put her in traction.

“I remember the day. It was senior night, and I wanted to play so badly with the seniors one last time,” Wyllie said. “When I got to the gym, all the seniors had written their names on the ball and the senior setter (Olivia Chuzie) gave it to me and said, ‘I’m setting to you one last time.’ I had tears streaming down my face.”

Wyllie has since fully recovered from her injury and has starred for the Eagles in three sports this season.

During the fall, she average nearly 10 kills per match for the Grove City volleyball team, helping the Eagles to a 13-3 record and their first playoff appearance in six years.

“She’s been a major part of the team,” said Grove City volleyball coach Dawn Haggart. “She was a strong hitter for us and also a very good blocker.

“It took her a lot of work to come back from that injury,” Haggart added. “The hardest part was getting her to slow down. But that’s Jordyn.”

In the winter, she averaged 6.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game for the Grove City girls basketball team, which also advanced to the District 10 playoffs.

“Even though she is a three-sport athlete, I would never know it because she’s always at our open gyms and team camps and tournaments in the offseason,” said Grove City girls basketball coach T.L. Eller. “She rarely misses anything we do as a team.”

This spring, Wyllie has already met the District 10 qualifying standard in the shot put, discus and high jump. Her throw of 96 feet, 4½ inches in the discus was a personal best.

Volleyball, though, is her sport of choice and Wyllie already has committed to play in college at Indiana (Pa.) University.

“This year has been awesome,” Wyllie said.

Wyllie grew up with basketball as her favorite sport, but that quickly changed as soon as she began playing volleyball.

At 5-foot-10 and with jumping ability, few can contain her at the net.

“There is nothing in the world like killing a ball, blocking a ball or serving an ace,” Wyllie said. “When I do it, I get so excited and bring energy to the court.”

Wyllie plans to major in elementary education at IUP. She is already active with kids in the in the community.

“I really like kids,” she said. “I go to all the middle school volleyball practices. They really look up to the older kids, and I want to be a good role model for them. I would absolutely love to be a coach someday.”

For now, Wyllie is concentrating on balancing all of her sports.

“I’m a pretty determined kid,” Wyllie said.