A-C Valley volleyball player Katie Quaill suffered a serious knee injury as a sophomore while playing basketball. Now a senior, Quaill is back and better than ever in helping the Falcons to a school-record 11-2 regular season record.

FOXBURG — Katie Quaill heard and felt the pop in her left knee, but she had no idea what it meant.

The A-C Valley sophomore limped off the basketball court and didn't return that January evening.

A trip to the emergency room gave her sobering news: she had a complete tear of the ACL.

Not only did the injury cut short her basketball season, but it also wiped out her track and field and volleyball campaigns.

"It was pretty rough," said Quaill, now a senior. "I never had to sit on the bench before, but I learned a lot. It was hard, but I learned."

A year and much laborious rehabilitation later, Quaill is back on the volleyball court for the Falcons and is better than ever.

She has been an assists machine at setter for A-C Valley, which finished the season with a school-best mark of 11-2 and is preparing for the District 9 playoffs.

"It hurt us a lot when she went down," said senior hitter Erika Rothen, who started along with Quaill as a freshman on a team that struggled to win two matches. "We had someone step up for us, but we still missed her."

Quaill was determined to make it back. She went through the struggles on a team that was rebuilding with youthful talent. She didn't want to miss out on the success at the end of the long journey.

It wasn't easy.

Quaill couldn't walk for eight weeks after the reconstructive surgery, and when she was cleared to begin rehab, it was long and arduous.

"The hardest part was getting the range of motion back," Quaill said. "You can't do the things you are used to doing."

Quaill doesn't think about it now as she flies around the court, lofting perfect sets to an array of dangerous hitters for the Falcons.

But it wasn't always that way.

Not only did Quaill have to tackle the physical part of her comeback, she found the mental part just as formidable.

"At first, it was a constant thing in the back of my mind," said Quaill, who had to wear a functional brace upon her return.

Now free of the brace, Quaill rarely thinks about her injury.

What is in her mind, though, is the possible end of her volleyball career, which began in junior high.

Quaill will attend California (Pa.) University next fall and is pondering a shot as a walk-on there.

"I'm proud of the team, especially seeing only three years ago we were 2-12, she said. "I've grown up with all these girls. We've grown up on the court. I want to keep it going."