Iowa State's Jess Schaben getting back to old form after torn labrum

AMES — Two years of trying to manage the pain left Jess Schaben frustrated and off the court.

As the number of Iowa State volleyball practices grew, Schaben often found herself on the sideline with chronic shoulder soreness. The junior outside hitter had dealt with it since her freshman season, but the pain was reaching a tipping point.

Things got so bad that Coach Christy Johnson-Lynch put restrictions on the number of swings Schaben could take per day. There were times last year when that number was zero.

'I didn't really think about (the pain) as much in the first or second set because I was more focused on getting the point and other things,' Schaben said. 'Once it got to about the third set, I would start to feel it getting really tired.

'That was really frustrating because I just want to hit the ball, I want to get the kills and it was just hard.'

After a torn labrum was diagnosed — and Schaben completed a sophomore season that culminated in an AVCA honorable mention All-American selection — the 6-foot-2 hitter and her coaches opted for surgery last December.

After a grueling offseason that kept Schaben from participating in spring practices, the Defiance, Iowa, native is healthy and ready to build on a season that saw her become an all-Big 12 first team pick. She led the Cyclones with 349 kills in 2016.

'She just started hitting again in the summer and has been working slowly toward more and more swings,' Johnson-Lynch said. 'I'm just so pleased with her progress. She worked very hard and I got that feedback from her trainers and doctors and some of our assistant coaches that were working with her during her rehab, how hard she worked to get back to her form.

'That's a long time to work that hard to get back to where you want to be.'

Schaben was in double-figure kills in 14 of 16 Big 12 matches, and was just trying to manage pain most of the time. She still started 26 matches, averaged 3.36 kills per set and had three matches with more than 20 kills.

Surgery, Schaben said, was a little nerve-wracking, but the idea she wouldn't reach her potential because of this shoulder issue gave her confidence in the operation. Schaben was cleared for practices in early June and has started to feel a sense of normalcy again.

'I'm still a little bit limited and stuff where I can only hit like 40 balls a practice,' Schaben said. 'But compared to last year it's much better and feels so much better.'

Iowa State was picked No. 4 in the Big 12 preseason poll after finishing last year 18-11 overall (10-5 in the Big 12) and competing in its 11th straight NCAA tournament. The Cyclones have eight players entering at least their third year of college, giving them a renewed veteran presence.

Seniors Samara West and junior Grace Lazard were all-Big 12 second team picks in 2016 while seniors Alexis Conaway and Monique Harris provide more experienced resumes. Redshirt sophomore libero Hali Hillegas, who made the all-Big 12 freshman team, is back, too.

It's been five years since Iowa State has advanced past the second round of the NCAA tournament, and while the team doesn't have its sights set too far ahead, it knows there is an opportunity to rectify that in 2017.

'We're on a journey to something we all want to achieve,' Lazard, a middle blocker, said. 'We all want to get to the tournament, we want to go beyond the tournament. We want to get to the third and fourth round and finals and stuff like that. That's obviously a goal and dream for everybody on the team. With that, it makes it easy for everybody to come together and work hard for each other.'

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