Wisconsin hitter Grace Egan had a scary moment earlier this year with a loss of feeling in her lower body. She immediately spent time in the hospital, figuring out what the next steps were. She is miraculously already back to playing volleyball and on the way back to full health. She's not back full-time yet and has only played briefly in the last two matches.
This is a big step forward but not the end of the road. Head coach Kelly Sheffield updated reporters yesterday on her road ahead: "You know, she hasn't been practicing a lot right now. And so I think, in fairness to her and our team and everything, you've got to kind of stack some days in practice to be able to play with freedom and to trust your body and be able to turn it loose. We're just in that process."
The fact that Egan isn't quite ready to stack days together and fully take huge swings means that she's not ready to be unleashed, but that the process is valuable. There's hope, and things are getting better for Egan: "The ability to put together a two-hour match," Sheffield said. "I'm not sure we're quite there, but we're not that far away from there."
Grace Egan is back but not fully back, yet, but the day is coming soon
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What really impressed him and moved Grace Egan in a remarkable way was the way the fans have treated Egan. The way fans have received her in the back-to-back home matches. "She came in and served Friday night," Sheffield said. The crowd exploded in cheers and a standing ovation. "And, you know, she was pretty moved by that and pretty emotional afterward."
Sheffield continued on that theme, saying, "There's a lot of hard work to get back...to be able to get out with her teammates in a match and to get the reception that she got on Friday and then the reception that she received on Sunday. I mean, that can be pretty emotional for players that are fighting back from injuries."
The Wisconsin fans know what it means for Egan and for Wisconsin to have her presence on the court. There is a deep appreciation for who she is and the fight she has shown in this injury battle. She means a lot to this program, and every Badger fan is thrilled to see her on the road to recovery.
The fight isn't over, and Sheffield was clear that she hasn't quite healed up all the way, but that the timeline for her full return is coming soon. Could that be days? Or weeks? How many more matches will she be only briefly appearing in? It all depends on how her body continues to respond and how quickly she shakes some of the rust off.
For Sheffield, it also comes down to trusting that the body will do what it's supposed to do. She spent months not being able to sit, having to switch to online classes, and doing homework on her stomach because she couldn't be in a sitting posture. So, the road has been hard and lonely, Sheffield has said, but the fact that her teammates, friends, and the Badger fans are rallying around her has been amazing.
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