JACKSON TWP — A year of physical therapy helped elevate Seneca Valley graduate Anthony Sprentz where he needed to be.

After dislocating both of his shoulders during his sophomore year, Sprentz spent a year as an understudy before breaking out as a senior.

Sprentz was the quarterback for third-year Seneca Valley volleyball coach Dan Follett’s high-tempo attack.

The Raiders rode their offense to a historic season, finishing 17-4 and reaching the PIAA Class AAA state semifinals for the first time.

That helped Sprentz and fellow outgoing senior Tyler Herrmann land spots on the Penn State Behrend men’s volleyball team.

“He runs the offense at a very consistent pace,” Raiders coach Dan Follett said of Sprentz. “He does some very good things with the ball, running the middle attack that puts other teams on their heels. He’s done a good job and the way our offense has been designed for the last couple of years.”

Sprentz led the team in assists, while Herrmann, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter, was among the team leaders in hitting percentage.

Rebuilding his form took time for Sprentz.

“I did physical therapy every day for a couple months,” Sprentz said. “It was hard, strenuous and time-consuming. So I had to work hard and get myself back into the flow of things.”

Herrmann was one of five Raiders to earn a spot on the WPIAL Class AAA All-Stars.

Senior libero Steve Jones and senior middle hitter Taylor Matthews joined Herrmann on the first team.

Senior outside hitters John Price and Austin Herrmann were selected on the third team.

Tyler Herrmann looks forward to continuing his career with Sprentz.

“Sprentz is a great player and we’ve played together for three or four years,” Herrmann said. “We’ve built a friendship together and I’m looking forward to college.”

Building that friendship in the offseason started through games played on a Pittsburgh Volleyball North Club team. Several Raiders players — Price, Austin and Taylor Herrmann, Sprentz, Matthews and Jones — formed a team together.

Tyler Herrmann was recruited as an outside hitter and hopes to stick with the position at the next level. He’s just hoping to fine tune a few things before he gets there.

“I would like to improve on my passing a little bit and work on my shots a little bit more,” Herrmann said.

Sprentz and Herrmann will join a PSU Behrend program that finished 13-14 last season, including a 1-7 mark in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play.

“It’s going to be fun,” Sprentz said. “We’re already going to have chemstry. It will be fun to play at the next level.”