Gainesville High School’s Rowan Kage was passionate about gymnastics at an early age.

But when she got the opportunity to play the game of volleyball in seventh grade, things changed.

On Wednesday, the 5’9 right side hitter/setter turned that decision into a college scholarship when she signed with the University of West Florida.

Her high school coach, Jerica Carter-Mitchell, also played for UWF and head coach Melissa Wolter, the winningest coach in Gulf South Conference volleyball history.

Gainesville Juniors coach Eric Marshall’s daughter, Ashton, played for UWF, and his daughter, Gracyn, will sign with the Argonauts on Friday.

“I definitely think that’s helped me a lot, not even with recruiting but just with the relationships that I’ve been able to build already,” Kage said. “It’s amazing to have that support from all of them and to know everything that’s happened. They’ve been there, they’ve told me what’s happened, they told me about the program, about the school, so it’s been really helpful.”

Gainesville Athletics Director Phillip Knight has a unique relationship with her, too.

“What’s nice for me is that she is my aide in the office, and she and I are the athletic department, literally, and so she helps me with that during the school day,” said Knight, who is Rowan’s stepdad. “She makes lists for me every day. If I don’t get it done, I hear about it later, keeps me on my toes. She’s up in the office one period a day taking care of all that kind of stuff, and that’s just a unique thing to have happen.”

She comes from an athletic family, but gymnastics likely played a role in her leaping ability.

“Both my parents were athletic; they played a bunch of sports in high school, too, so that probably helped, but I think gymnastics allowed me to be such a tough athlete now and be able to jump higher,” she said.

According to Carter-Mitchell, she had a vertical of over two feet, which was higher than 6’1 Jacey Carter-Mitchell and 5’10 Jorryn Dye.

“She can get up there even though she’s shorter,” she said. “I’m sure they will work on that, and she’ll have an even higher vert in college. I feel like with that athleticism, she can find a way to be a front row, but she’ll at least get on the back row.”

This past year, Kage led the Hurricanes (20-9) with 302 kills.

“She’s a great athlete,” Carter-Mitchell said. “You set her the ball anywhere, front row, back row, she’s going to find a way to terminate it. I know size-wise, it’s going to be tougher for her to get that spot on a height on the college level, but she got that chance, she’s there, and no matter what position they put her at, she’ll find a way to score. They have a great player coming to them.”

During her junior year, Kage did her own recruitment, reaching out to Florida schools, including UWF.

It paid off.

“During my junior year, they reached back out and wanted to have a phone call and then after that first call, I knew that was where I wanted to be,” Kage said. “I tried really hard, as much as I could, reaching out every day to stay in their minds, ‘oh, I want this girl because she’s really committed to this program.’ When they reached back out, I was like, ‘Oh, this can really happen, my dreams can come true.’ It was really eye-opening for me.”

Kage capped her senior campaign with the school’s first trip to the final four in 14 years.

“It’s incredible. I mean, obviously, that’s your goal when you’re in high school, is to get that far. And I think each year I’ve improved myself, and our team’s improved, and we’ve gotten farther. Every year, it’s just like there’s no words to describe that feeling. It was just so amazing. And I’m so glad I got to do it with the people I did it with.”

Kage will put on her high school uniform one last time this Tuesday, Nov. 18, at “The Prep Zone” All-Star Showcase in Alachua.

“Yeah, it’s super cool,” she said. “I’m glad I was invited, and I’m excited to play with new people. I think it’s always a good opportunity to learn about myself and about my ability to work with new people. I’m super excited to play with them and against such good competition.”