The hard slap of volleyballs being hit by hands echoed through the gym of the second floor in the recreation center. The loud shouts of “mine” punctuated the air as the team of girls leapt to knock the ball aside. They all looked like they thoroughly enjoyed what they were doing. Mary Ellen Knewtson sat on the sidelines, and watched the team practice. She had been a part of the team just a couple of weeks ago, until she woke up one morning and found her left arm to be swollen.
A blood clot in her armpit that resulted from birth control ended Knewtson’s club volleyball season. Even though she is now forced to sit on the sidelines, as per doctor’s request, it doesn’t stop her from coming to practice and tournaments to cheer the team on.
“They’re some of my best friends,” she said as she closely watched the team, periodically yelling encouraging words at them.
Hailing from Sugarland, Texas, Knewtson had stopped playing volleyball seriously her sophomore year of high school to focus on school. She didn’t want her college experience to be focused around the game she was playing, but rather her academics. “I wasn’t top 10 percent or anything. I was like, top 25 percent, and I applied to UT the night before and just reused essays,” she explained as the cold fall morning air whipped her hair around. She sipped from a warm Starbucks drink before continuing. “I had a full ride to OU, and didn’t get any money to come here, but I like Austin. The people are really positive and they have their priorities straight here. They just love where they are and who they’re with.”
Upon arriving at UT, Knewtson tried out for the club volleyball team. “What I like about club volleyball is that people do it for the right reasons.” She made the position of middle on the second team. “The middle needs to be there to block,” she said. “You have to be quick, and you may not hit as hard, but you get a lot of points.” She stopped to catch a stray volleyball and return it to her coach. The players smiled at her as she brought the ball to them. At the beginning of practice, none of them acted as if they even noticed that Knewtson wasn’t going to be playing. As they all stretched, they chatted with her, one girl asking about apartment suggestions and another asking about what she should do to stretch her lower back.
“You get close,” Knewtson said. Having to practice, drive together to tournaments together and stay at tournaments for hours allowed them to become good friends. Her closest friend, Kristen Lee, is a graduate student at UT and has been playing volleyball for over eight years. “We bonded over drives to visit out boyfriends in San Antonio,” Knewtson laughed as she watched her friend serve the ball. “But they broke up, so she doesn’t ride with me anymore.” Lee was one of the people to visit her while she was in the hospital. “She brought me magazines and those organic fruit bars. She’s my best friend on the team.”
Knewtson obviously misses the game as she jumped up to join their practice. “I want to serve. I don’t see how that could mess up anything,” she said. She sent several balls soaring over the net and over the heads of her teammates. When the team was released for a water break, she returned with a smile on her face.
“Best case scenario?” She said. “I’ll be able to come back next semester for at least the last month.”
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