When Trinity senior Stella Kleffman was in the seventh grade, she went to an Indiana versus Purdue volleyball match at the old University Gym in Bloomington.

A rivalry matchup between the two in-state teams, the environment was raucous, and Kleffman remembers being fascinated by all of it.

She got in the car after the game with her parents and told them, “I’m going to be one of those big girls one of these days. I want to go play in college.”

Kleffman’s high school volleyball career came to a close on Nov. 6 at the state championships in Worthern Arena.

On Dec. 18, Kleffman officially committed to Kentucky Wesleyan to play volleyball, fulfilling the goal she set out for herself in the seventh grade.

“The recruiting process can be a little stressful,” Kleffman said. “It’s really exciting to look at those pictures of when I was a little girl playing volleyball and then now this fall I’m going to be playing collegiate volleyball.”

A teammate Kleffman plays travel ball with committed to Kentucky Wesleyan in October, and Kleffman remembers being very excited for her.

During sectionals this past volleyball season, Kleffman got an email from the Kentucky Wesleyan head coach Eric Hagan.

Hagan came to a couple postseason matches to watch Kleffman and Trinity compete. Once her season wrapped up, Kleffman took a visit to the campus.

“I kind of realized that this would be my future home, and I really loved it down there,” she said.

Her decision in December came down to Kentucky Wesleyan or a college in Louisiana.

“It was kind of a big decision being 12 hours away from home or being two-and-a-half, so it kind of hit me that I wanted to be somewhere that my parents could come watch my games and I could come home on my off weekends,” she said.

She said the small, close atmosphere that Kentucky Wesleyan gives off reminds her of Trinity Lutheran.

Kleffman felt like all the players were very welcoming, and she remembers meeting some of the professors at the college, and they all remembered her name, which is something you might not get at a bigger university.

Hagan told Kleffman that the Panthers are in a rebuilding stage right now, but their goal is to win the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in the coming years.

“I knew it’d be a place that pushed me as a student and a athlete,” Kleffman said.

Kleffman plans to major in political science with the goal of becoming a family law attorney. That hasn’t always been the career path Kleffman was interested in. She originally wanted to be a doctor, and she got a job at a nursing home before quickly realizing she doesn’t quite “have the stomach” for that profession.

Kleffman currently works at the Jackson County Bank, and someone she works with used to be a family law attorney and spoke highly about it. After speaking with some professors at Kentucky Wesleyan about it, Kleffman was sold that it was what she wanted to pursue.

The Trinity senior is fresh off a remarkable senior year in which she helped lead a young Cougar team to the state finals.

Kleffman had 160 kills on the season, led the team with 57 aces, had 449 digs and led the team with 537 serve receptions. Of the 537 serves she received, only 49 were errors. Not to mention Kleffman was almost always on the floor, tied for the team lead on sets played this season at 108.

Despite losing a heartbreaker to Lafayette Central Catholic in five sets at state, Kleffman looks back on it as a positive now.

“It was definitely one to remember,” Kleffman said of the season. “Now, after you’re a couple months away from it, it’s like yeah, it’s disappointing, but if you think about it, how many high school athletes can say they played for a state championship?”

She has re-watched the state match, and she said she felt like the whole team left their hearts out on the floor, so it was worth it.

But as the chapter of her Cougar career ends, the one for her Panther career is about to begin.

Kleffman will report slightly early to Kentucky Wesleyan this summer before the season begins next fall. It was a relieving feeling to commit back on Dec. 18 for Kleffman because all the hard work she has given to volleyball was worth it.

“It was definitely relieving,” she said. “Finally you find a place that works for you, all the work and time you’ve put into recruiting; it feels good to finally pick the right place.”