College volleyball: Stack battles her way back for Leafs

GOSHEN - Layers of experience have made Jaime Stack the rock she strives to be.

"When we're having a bad day, my mom (Deb) and I have a joke," said Stack, a senior at Goshen College. "We say, 'OK, we've built enough character in our lives now. We don't need anymore.'

"I'm trying to be a rock for others to mirror. I've learned that everyone has something difficult going on in their lives. It's pretty cliché, but clichés are real."

There's nothing cliché about the adversity Stack, a Fairfield High grad and two-sport (volleyball and basketball) athlete for the Maple Leafs, has faced over the last four years. Emotions have run the gamut.

Stack came to Goshen as one of the cornerstones of a recruiting class that was targeted to breathe new life into the volleyball program run by coach Jim Routhier. Stack, Melanie Meyer, Sam Heberling, Missy Mackowiak and Megan Strock made for a tight-knit group.

"This group was going to be special," said Routhier.

Still is, but it has had to endure.

Stack, a 5-foot-6 outside hitter ("Jaime was listed as 5-7 in the (game) program," Routhier said. "She made me change it to 5-6. She said, 'When I slam the ball down on someone, I want them to know it was someone 5-6 who did it.'"), has a competitive mean streak about her. A pre-physical therapy major with a 3.5 GPA, Stack has mastered the art of turning it off once the game is over.

Her epic journey started the summer between her freshman and sophomore year. During a pickup basketball game, she suffered a broken left arm. No big deal. Six weeks and it will be fine. She played both sports her sophomore year with just minor pain and soreness.

It was May, 2013, when her father Jim - a devoted fan to Jaime and her siblings - lost his battle with cancer. A couple months later, after attending a family reunion in LaGrange, Jaime was involved in a car accident. While assessing her injuries, it was found that the broken arm from basketball had never healed.

Two surgeries and an implanted bone stimulator corrected that problem. As for volleyball and basketball her junior year? Nope, not this year.

After a couple months of healing, Stack was cleared to begin jogging. After a short time on the track, it was determined she had a partial tear in her meniscus ligament in her right knee. From the accident? From the running? Nobody knows.

"It got to be overwhelming," Stack said of the onslaught of life's problems. "You don't ever see something like that coming."

Over and over.

"After a while, you convince yourself to take every challenge as it comes," Stack said. "You can't be that sad. You're still alive."

Routhier was stunned with what happened to his team last year. He had two players injured in car accidents, three others had concussions on the court, and others missed time with assorted injuries.

For Stack, the bench was no place for someone as competitive.

"I saw frustration in her face," Routhier said. "It was hard for her to just sit there."

"Our team was struggling and there wasn't anything I could do," Stack said.

The rock was still in the formative process.

Gradually, she physically recovered from the injuries. Her arm had healed, but before she could have the bone stimulator removed in the late spring, Stack had to leave for her three-month Study Service Term in Peru.

Once back home last month, she hurriedly had the procedure to remove the device, got her volleyball physical, and got engaged to Goshen student Thomas Applegate.

Quite a way to get ready for this season.

"It was a whirlwind," said Stack, finally able to smile.

Stack has 41 kills for the 2-2 Maple Leafs, second behind Meyer (43).

"Jaime and (Meyer) are our go-to hitters," said Routhier. "She's got such a gritty attitude. If she's not going 100 miles an hour ..."

"I'm just happy to be playing," said Stack. "My personal goal is to not get upset over things that happen in a match. I don't want it to hinder how I view my last season.

"I can fix things better than I could before. After sitting out last year, I notice things now I never did before. I want to give my teammates advice: Keep yourself up; just take one day at a time."

That's what rocks do.

ALesar@SBTinfo.com

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