MOREHEAD, Ky. - Just call them The Three Amigas.
By chance – misfortune, really –
Hope Rillema,
Jessie Wachtman and
Danielle McCarson shared a common bond last year. All three missed all or most of last volleyball season due to injury.
Now, they're back, eager to put the Morehead State program atop the Ohio Valley Conference.
"One of the things that I'm very excited to have the three of them back on the court is they bring a skill of making those around them better," Coach
Jaime Gordon said. "When you've got one person that can do that, it's really helpful. When you have three people that can do that, kind of the sky's the limit."
Rillema is the elder spokesman of the formerly wounded. A senior from Whitehall, Mich., she has transitioned from an outside hitter and become a defensive specialist during her time at MSU.
Gordon calls her "a great ball-control player" who brings consistent play to the team.
A finalist for Michigan's Miss Volleyball in 2012, she helped Morehead to a 27-8 record, a fourth straight league regular-season title, an OVC Tournament crown and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2013.
As a sophomore, Rillema ranked 10th in the OVC with a team-best 384 digs.
Last year, though, she played in only three matches before suffering a season-ending concussion.
"I got hit in the forehead with a fist when somebody was going back to hit in the back row," she said. "Just closed my eyes, sat down on the court and just didn't feel good after that."
Didn't feel good for a full seven months. During that time, Rillema made multiple visits to two neurologists. Because of the concussion, she was an infrequent visitor to Wetherby Gym.
"Just being in the gym was painful for my head – the lighting and the sounds," she said.
Now, she feels 100 percent on some days, not so good at other times. But she's eager to play.
An exercise science major who envisions a career in the cardiac rehab field, Rillema says she's thankful that her professors were so helpful. They allowed her to make up assignments and made a point of asking her how she felt.
McCarson, a redshirt freshman out of Oldham County High School, also is a defensive specialist. And, like Rillema, she missed last season because of a concussion, which was suffered during the pre-season Alumni Match.
"It was a short tip," McCarson said. "I was playing left back and another girl was playing right back, and we both went for the same ball. We collided and I got a concussion."
A pre-P.A. (physician assistant) major, McCarson found that the lights and sounds in the gym weren't so severe on her as it was for Rillema, so she was able to watch her Eagles teammates.
"I think I learned a lot about myself and a lot about the game and a lot about my team," she said. "… Coaches were asking me 'what are you seeing? Do you think we need to change anything?' So it was really cool to be able to (see) the coaching side of it as well."
Gordon says McCarson "is like a sparkplug. She's a real quick athlete, but not just on the physical side; also in how she processes the game, her reaction to it."
As for Wachtman, a redshirt-sophomore middle blocker from Pickerington, Ohio, her head was fine last season. But, three matches into the schedule, she tore the ACL and MCL in her left knee.
"She's a very mature individual and I think she knows the game well," Gordon said. "And it's nice now for her body to be healthy and be able to execute some things."
As a freshman, Wachtman registered 37 kills and 16 blocks in 31 matches.
Last year's injury happened when she rose for a block attempt. When she landed, she recognized a sickening pain.
"I had torn my other ACL before on Senior Night of my senior year of high school," Wachtman said. "So I knew. It was a familiar pain and a familiar feeling."
A strategic communications major with a minor in Spanish, Wachtman was thrust into a new role with her team.
"Accepting a role on the sidelines was a lot different," she said. "But, again, I had a pair of eyes and kind of a different mindset than being in the moment and being in the game. I really took myself out of those situations and kind of looked at the bigger picture, which is helping me right now on the court after that long year. Also, I was able to help my teammates then."
Sitting out a season also gave her a greater appreciation for the game.
"I definitely had taken the game for granted before," Wachtman said. "Getting back to practice and do the hard things like running and conditioning is just so sweet because you don't realize how much it means to you until it's gone."
Rillema, McCarson and Wachtman have high hopes for this season, which officially gets underway Friday when the Eagles travel to Charleston, S.C., to take on Robert Morris and The Citadel in the Bulldog Battle. To a person, they share the goals put forth by their coach.
"The goals are the same as every single year with this program," Gordon said. "It's to win championships, and you do that by getting better every day. Last year was challenging because of so many critical players that were injured and that we weren't able to use.
"It's nice to have those guys back, but it also forced some players (to get) early experience. Young players that had no choice but to get out there and learn – a little bit of baptism through fire. I think we're more seasoned because of that and we've got a lot of options for us leading forward. And hopefully we can figure out a lineup and recipe that will work for us."
It wouldn't hurt to wash down that recipe with a toast to good health.
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