STARKVILLE — Faith Steinwedell believes she was destined to play volleyball in a major conference 1,900 miles away from her home in La Jolla, Calif.
Unfortunately, Steinwedell”s journey has included two major knee surgeries that have earned her the reputation for being someone who spends more time on the training table than on the court.
In 2011, the junior right side hitter isn”t trying to hide her knee injury. The large black brace she wears on his right leg, her inability to run with the team during drills, and the surgical scar on her left knee don”t allow her that luxury.
“It”s a day-by-day process to get back to being able to play and jump and move the way that seemed natural to me before the injury,”
Steinwedell said. “It was a year-long rehab, and I stayed around Starkville this summer to work with my strength coaches to make sure I was ahead of schedule.”
Steinwedell is months removed from having microfracture surgery on her right knee after she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in the first set against the University of Montana in the team”s fourth match of the season.
“It was devastating because I didn”t let my team down on purpose because, trust me, I would”ve rather played,” Steinwedell said. “It”s hard to be a part of the team and not do what they had to do physically all year.”
MSU volleyball coach Jenny Hazelwood knew her squad was in trouble when she saw Steinwedell hobble off the court.
“I knew the players behind her at that position while really talented did not have the experience to (be) in a spot to succeed,” Hazelwood said. “We went into the season thinking we”ve got to have Faith stay healthy then boom, she”s gone in match four. It killed us.”
Microfracture surgery is an articular cartilage repair surgical technique that create tiny fractures in the underlying bone. This causes new cartilage to develop from a super-clot. The surgery takes 30-90 minutes, is minimally invasive, and typically has a shorter recovery time that a knee replacement. Its success with multiple professional athletes, including the NBA”s Amar”e Stoudemire, Anfernee Hardaway, Jason Kidd, Greg Oden, Allan Houston, Kenyon Martin, Tracy McGrady, and Chris Webber has helped it attract more attention and has resulted in more orthopedic surgeons using it.
Still, the procedure requires athletes to go through nearly a year of rehabilitation, which Steinwedell has done to give her a promising prognosis.
“I tore everything in my knee. It was gone,” Steinwedell said. “The microfracture has been right on my femur, so I can”t run very well and the impact of jumping and running is what I have to watch.”
Steinwedell hasn”t run in the preseason, and she said she still feels pain in her knee when she jumps on some days, but Hazelwood has pushed her junior captain to fight through the pain.
“We haven”t had to let up a whole lot, but I”ve gotten good at looking at her and then knowing when to back off,” Hazelwood said.
Hazelwood”s experience working with Steinwedell has helped them handle the latest injury. In 2008, Steinwedell started the first 21 matches before sustaining a season-ending left knee injury against
the University of Kentucky in late October.
This time, Steinwedell admits she resumed competitive training faster than her doctors and trainers would”ve preferred, but the work has helped her return to the starting lineup.
“When I say I was cleared for ”full-go”, that took six months, but was my body ready to go 100 percent? No,” Steinwedell said.
MSU wasn”t initially on Steinwedell”s radar. Steinwedell wasn”t heavily recruited out of high school. It wasn”t until MSU coaches saw Steinwedell at a club prospects tournament in Las Vegas and convinced Steinwedell”s parents to take an official visit to Starkville that the groundwork was laid for the California native to come to Mississippi.
But Steinwedell didn”t want to make the trip.
“My mom made me come at first, but it”s been the time of my life,”
Steinwedell said. “In hindsight, I truly believe God needed me for a reason because I doubted if it was the right decision. Now I”m in Starkville, Mississippi, and loving every minute of it.”
As she has pushed herself through the pain, Steinwedell has noticed a change in the pace and tempo at practice in year three of the Hazelwood”s rebuilding project.
“It”s now a player-driven program, and that”s not trying to take anything away from what our coaches do every day, but we know we have to set the bar of excellence,” Steinwedell said. “It has to be us wanting to do it and then executing out on the floor.”
Steinwedell and the Bulldogs are set to return to the court this weekend in the Mississippi State Maroon Classic, which begins at 7 Friday night with a match against Southern Illinois. Action continues Saturday with a day-night doubleheader against Tennessee-Martin (12:30 p.m.) and Southeastern Louisiana (7 p.m.)
“I need to be in front of a crowd again because that”s why we play for Mississippi State,” Steinwedell said. “I”m nervous and excited to see how I and my body react to the adrenaline rush.”
From there, Steinwedell will play in her home state next weekend at a non-conference tournament at the University of Pacific.
“My parents have never seen me play here and they”ll fly to Stockton for that, so I”m really excited for that tournament,” Steinwedell said.
“My grandmother, who lives in Florida, is the only family that”s seen me play in college, so it”ll be a thrill for me.”
Despite being picked to finish last in the Southeastern Conference, Steinwedell believes MSU is making progress and that the goal of making the NCAA tournament is attainable.
“This is the first year we”re on the same page, and it”s not just about what coach (Hazelwood) wants now,” Steinwedell said. “We want it too. We wanted to get picked last because we know we”re not that kind of program anymore, but we have to show the doubters they”re wrong.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.