COLLEGE STATION, TX -- Former Texas A&M standout Jennifer Banse has signed to play professional volleyball for the ATSC Sparkasse Wildcats Klagenfurt, a member of the Austrian Volleyball Federation and located in Klagenfurt, Austria.

Banse, a 6-0 right-side hitter from San Antonio, was not convinced she even wanted to play professional volleyball until she watched the Aggies play LSU at Reed Arena on Saturday.

“I got the offer only a couple of days before the LSU match,” Banse said. “I kept putting off and putting off calling back my agent. I had already moved into my apartment, registered for classes and I was settled. I wasn’t sure I wanted to sign the contract, but watching the LSU match made me realize that I could never pass up the opportunity. It made me realize how much I missed volleyball and how bad I wanted to get back out there.”

She called her agent Sunday morning.

“I’ll never get another chance like this,” Banse added. “I realized I would be a fool if I didn’t jump on it.”

Banse capped her four-year Aggie career in December by receiving All-America and All-Central Region honorable mention honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association and all-Big 12 first-team accolades after leading A&M to a 20-11 record, a No. 21 final ranking and an appearance in the NCAA regional semifinals.

Banse started every match as a senior and led A&M’s outside hitters with a .272 hitting percentage. She ranked second on the team and sixth in the Big 12 with 3.42 kills per set, as well as second on the team and seventh in the league with 3.78 points per set for the full season.

Also a primary passer, Banse was instrumental as the team set an all-time record for fewest reception errors in a season.

Banse hit a combined .325 and averaged 4.58 kills, 4.67 points and 2.92 digs per set during A&M’s NCAA Sweet 16 run. She posted the first 20-plus kill performance of her career with 23 in the 3-1 first-round victory against No. 19 Arizona and then reached the 20-kill mark in the ensuing match with 20 in the 3-2 upset of No. 15 seed LSU.

Banse is the fourth player from A&M’s 2009 Sweet 16 team to join volleyball’s professional ranks.

Sarah Ammerman, who played for the Ponce Lionesses of the Puerto Rico Volleyball Federation in the spring, is now playing for Nova KBM Branik Maribor Volleyball Club in Slovenia. Mary Batis is a member of USSPA Albi Volleyball based in Albi, France, and Jola Kelner is playing for VT Aurubis Hamburg, a member of Germany’s 14-team national first league, Bundesliga. They all left the United States in early August to begin training with their respective teams.

“I haven’t been able to talk them a lot, but they did me good input and good feedback,” Banse said about her former teammates who will be only hours away by train. “I know all three of them are loving it.”

Banse had gotten a late start in pursuing a professional volleyball career, not signing with an agent until July, when most other players had already signed with a team. If a team didn’t pick her up, she was determined to concentrate on finishing the five hours she needs to complete her degree in allied health and graduate in December. She also had begun applying to attend nursing schools.

“I signed with an agent in the middle of July. If didn’t work out, it didn’t work out,” Banse said. “I was going to try and not get my hopes up, because I knew it was so late in the game and I knew there was not a great chance of getting on with a team.

“Plus I haven’t graduated, and that is one of my top priorities. Now I plan on coming back for a May mini-mester, take a summer class and graduate in August.”

The trip to Austria won’t be Banse’s first, and she is excited to return to the country where the Aggies visited for a few hours during their two-week European training tour in 2008.

“I loved every part of that trip. It gave me a chance to see European volleyball, the style of it, the strength of it,” said Banse, who never considered pursuing a pro career at the time. “It was a good trip, and Austria is beautiful. It was one of the prettiest places we went to.”

As far as her future in professional volleyball, Banse is approaching the opportunity with an open mind. She also is staying focused on her career after volleyball.

“I’m signing for a year,” she said. “If I end up loving, which I can see myself thriving in that atmosphere, then I will definitely consider another couple of years as long as my body holds up.

“And nursing school is still in the back of my mind. I want to come back and do that at some point.”

Needless to say, the last few days have been a whirlwind for Banse, who leaves for Austria on Sunday.

“I’ve been Just trying to get my flight settled, and I only have four days to pack and cancel all my previous plans,” she said. “I’m a little nervous, but at the same time it will just take me a week or two to get the hang of things.

“I know I’ll end up loving it. I don’t see how I couldn’t.”