Volleyball has taken Courtney Karst a long way in her life.
It recently took her 9,000 miles.
Karst, a former star at Eaglecrest High School who helped the Raptors win the Class 5A state championship in 2007, just signed a contract to continue her career playing professional volleyball in Indonesia.
The 6-foot-1 outside hitter wrapped up a four-year volleyball career at the University of Arizona in 2011. As a senior, Karst played in every set for the Wildcats, led them in kills with 360 and earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors. It was a time she won’t forget.
“My career at Arizona was extremely amazing,” said Karst, who appeared in 385 sets for Arizona and tallied 987 kills. “I had the best time and I loved all my coaches and teammates.”
Now, Karst is off on a new adventure. She turned down offers to play in other countries, but she’s taking a chance in heading somewhere she’d never been before, Asia.
Karst doesn’t know much about the details, but she’s not going in completely blind as one of her former club coaches had played in Indonesia.
“What I’m really looking forward to is learning about a whole new culture and being able to travel the world doing what I love,” said Karst, who had 28 hours of travel ahead of her arrival.
Karst will join the professional circuit in Indonesia about halfway through the season, which typically runs from August to May. She would have gone last fall, but was still finishing up school.
While she continues to play a game she’s loved since she began playing at 7 years old, she knows it will still be work.
“I’m getting paid, so it will be a job,” she said.
Karst’s younger sister, Bailey, also starred at Eaglecrest and is now a sophomore on the University of Denver’s volleyball team after a season at Ohio University.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
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