As she has been since her freshman season, Olivia Stewart was right in the middle of the action last year for Metea Valley during a Class 4A regional championship match at Geneva.
The 6-foot-1 middle hitter had been building up another banner season that fed her Division I college aspirations. Then, on the final point of the first game, everything changed.
Stewart dislocated her ankle and left the gym in an ambulance. Her teammates rallied to win the regional title, with coach Dave Macdonald bringing the plaque to Stewart’s hospital room.
Suddenly, her season was over and her future was up in the air.
“I was worried, but I tried not to let the worry hold me back,” Stewart said. “I used that to push me to get better. It was very tough — I’m not going to lie. It was the hardest two months I’ve ever had.
“I went from playing every single day to not playing at all. The support from my teammates, my family and my doctors helped.”
Everything, however, worked out in the end for Stewart. The dislocation was clean, with no broken bones or ligament damage. She was able to return to play during club season with Sports Performance and committed to Eastern Michigan, fulfilling a dream.
On top of that, she’s back for her senior year at Metea, alongside fellow four-year varsity player Ashley Ward, to lead the Mustangs to what they hope is another deep postseason run.
“I definitely didn’t want to go through something like this for it all to end up working out,” Stewart siad. “But I’m happy with how things shook out.”
Macdonald is impressed with how Stewart handled everything in the aftermath of such a scary incident.
“She went through a lot of therapy,” Macdonald said. “Plus, the emotional and mental aspect of it, like, ‘Hey, can I do this again?’ You have that in the back of your mind.
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“She’s had such a great attitude about it. We’re excited to have her back at full strength.”
Ward also returns as Metea’s setter. The two are so close that Stewart said there are times on the court they “share the same mind.”
After the injury, though, Ward was concerned.
“I’m just so proud of her,” she said. “I’ve seen her grow so much. When that happened to her, I was thinking about her future. I’m so proud of her for being able to accomplish her college choice.”
The duo is back together again, and Ward is ready to run things through Stewart.
“She’s definitely going to take charge in the front,” Ward said. “She’s always been one of the tallest people on our team. We’re really going to use that to our advantage.”
The main difference Stewart said she feels is leadership. In the past, Stewart has always been able to do her thing on the court, with others taking care of that aspect.
Now, it falls on Stewart and Ward as veterans of the team.
“I want to be a vessel to guide the younger girls,” Stewart said. “It’s the best because (Ward) and I went into this program on varsity since freshman year. It’s been really nice to grow with her.
“Having that other person to talk to and having such a strong connection is just the best.”
Macdonald is excited to see it play out. He’s also relieved that Stewart will be there for it.
“We’re expecting big things,” Macdonald said. “We’re excited for her to be the focal point of our offense. She understands pressure. We’re going to run through Olivia and other teams know it.
“She has the competitive edge for that.”
Stewart is just happy she can concentrate on leading Metea to a big season.
“We have sophomores through seniors but everyone has such a good drive to learn and grow,” Stewart said. “We all have this drive to want to be the best.”
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Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.