The first few weeks of college volleyball have been full of excitement, filled with huge upsets and dominant teams. Unfortunately, along with the high competition comes injuries. Top teams such as Penn State, Minnesota, and Texas Christian (TCU) all have players who have experienced early season injuries.
Minnesota, who was ranked eleven going into preseason, has lost two players already. Their junior libero, Zeynep Palabiyik, went down early in their preseason match against St. Thomas. She was diagnosed with a torn acl, so unfortunately she will be out for the remainder of the season. Just a few weeks later, the Gopher Volleyball Instagram announced that their starting middle, Calissa Minatee, suffered from a lower body injury, which would eliminate her from playing for the rest of the season. Minatee was having a breakout season, as she was one of the most efficient middles in the Big Ten. She had a hitting efficiency of .427, which is impressive for the level of volleyball she was playing.
With two of Minnesota’s starters falling due to injury, it has forced them to look deeper into their roster. Thankfully, the team has depth and other players have stepped up. The Minnesota team’s ranking has fallen to 12 overall, meaning they are still in contention for the National Championship despite the two injuries.
Captain of TCU, Jaylin Gibson, fell to injury in the third set against Penn State. Her team was still able to finish the game victorious in a four set battle. Teammate Sarah Sylvester was interviewed after the win by the NCAA. She said, “I think definitely everyone had the mindset that this is for Jailyn, we’re doing this for her.” Gibson announced via Instagram that she suffered a knee injury that would prevent her from playing the rest of the season. Despite the injury, the TCU team has only continued to gain momentum after their win over Penn State, as they are now ranked nine. The team seems determined to continue success even after losing their captain.
Penn State’s star setter, Izzy Stark, also played her last match of the year against TCU. She posted on Instagram a few days after the match that she would be stepping away from volleyball for the remainder of the season to focus on mental health. This devastated the volleyball community, as Izzy was the NCAA Freshman of the Year last season, and helped lead the Nittany Lions to a National Championship. Many fans were excited to watch Stark set the transfer Kennedy Martin who was an All-American for the Florida Gators. Penn State entered preseason ranked number two, but have unfortunately dropped to thirteen due to the loss of Stark.
Stark’s decision to prioritize her mental health is a huge deal for not only college volleyball, but college athletics in general. Mental health has become an increasing issue among college athletes, so it is significant that Stark was able to step away despite being so talented.
“I have multiple family members who either played a sport in college or are playing currently, and they have all said that it is definitely a full time job,” said Lila DeJager (26). “It is something to really look up to that Izzy Starck was able to step down from her role on the team to prioritize herself, even with the amount of pressure she has after becoming AVCA National Freshman of the year this past year.”
College volleyball is very entertaining for fans this eason thus far, as it seems every team in the top 25 is capable of beating one another. Injuries have already made a big impact for many teams, so fans are interested to see what happens for the duration of the season.
