Peyton Meyer is ready to be back on the court this season. The senior setter tore her ACL last season and has been looking forward to playing again ever since. It has been a long recovery process since last year but she believes she is ready to go for this season. Meyer is looking forward to being back in the game with her best friends for her senior season.
“I truly love all my teammates and have missed them. Especially Ashlyn [Paymal]. She and I have played together since we were 11 and I’ve missed being her setter.” Meyer said.
Meyer has had to work hard to get back to this position. An ACL injury requires a very long thorough recovery. She believes it was all worth it though, to be back with her team for her last season.
“My rehab in total was just under 10 months. I was lucky to able to be a part of a research study at UNMC which meant that twice a week I went into the lab and had a 1.5 hour PT session and data collection. Along with that every six weeks my strength was tested so for my entire rehab I got to see how my strength and biomechanics were improving,” Meyer said.
This long process was definitely straining for Meyer, but she was able to see the bright side of her situation. For the 10 months that she was out she did not take her time on the sidelines for granted, she tried to use that time to improve in other ways.
“Sitting on the sidelines for 10 months isn’t fun, but you can learn a lot by observing what other setters do and evaluating what you would do differently.” Meyer said.
Her coaches can tell how hard she has worked to get back on the court as well. Coach Andrew Wehrli is excited to see such a great player back in action this season. He believes that she will be a great asset to the team.
“I think Peyton‘s gonna have a great senior year. She has worked incredibly hard to get back on the court this year. Our offense was really starting to dominate when she got hurt last year. I’ve been impressed by how quickly she’s been able to find her set location and tempo after getting cleared to play” Wehrli said.
Volleyball is very important to Meyer, so when it was taken out of her life for so long she developed a new perspective on the game and its influence on her life.
“It [her injury] has given me such a new sense of gratitude.” Meyer said. “I learned that volleyball can be taken away from me in a second so I am just grateful whenever I get the chance to be out on the court.”
Meyer wanted to be back at practice and in the game as soon as her injury would allow. This meant starting small with things that would not push back her recovery time. She, with help from her coaches, found drills and ways to practice that would allow her to keep her skills up without worsening her injuries.
“As soon as I could walk without crutches Wehrli would set up a massive plyo box and chair for me to sit on and set to a target so I could continue working on my touch even if I couldn’t play.” Meyer said.
Meyer believes that these everyday practices and drills on her road to recovery are what made her so ready to return this season. That does not mean that her comeback will be any easier though. Her injury can start to bother her at any time which can make her packed practice and game schedule hard to endure.
“Even though I feel prepared, coming back is still really hard on my body,” Meyer said. “My knee swells frequently and I have to be in the training room receiving treatment before and after school to ensure that I stay healthy. Pain and swelling will be something that I have to manage all season and probably for the next year.”
Aside from her injury comeback, Meyer has a very bright future in her volleyball career. She is committed to Towson University, a D1 school with a successful volleyball program.
“Through that [recruiting] process I fell in love with the Towson coaches and with the school.” Meyer said. “I felt honored that the coaching staff was so all in on me and willing to take a risk on me because most colleges aren’t willing to take a risk on an ACL kid. I also fell in love with the culture of the program.”
Wehrli was very excited about her commitment to Towson as well. He believes she has the potential to play at a very competitive level in college and while her injury might have been a small setback she is definitely making the most of it.
“I believe Peyton has the ability to play power five major college volleyball, but her injury stifled her recruiting process,” Wehrli said. Ultimately, the NCAA transfer portal is a great benefit to players like Peyton who’s recruiting process took a backseat because of her injury.”
Overall, Meyer has an exciting comeback season ahead of her and she is more than ready to take it on. She has some straightforward goals that will carry her through this year.
“In terms of goals, my goals are simple: stay healthy and ball out.” Meyer said.
