LYNN HAVEN, Fla. (WMBB) – Mosley junior volleyball player, Ansley Rowan has been cleared to return to the court after suffering an ACL tear in February.
In the final match of her sophomore soccer season, Rowan went down in the last two minutes, setting her back for a long spring and summer of recovery.
“My junior year, I was like okay, it’s going to be a good year, it’s going to be calm, everything’s settling down, and all sudden there goes the ACL tear at the end of my sophomore year,” Rowan said.
Ansley is the youngest of three Rowan siblings, behind two older brothers, Coleman and Hudson, who both signed from Mosley to play Division One baseball.
Two months after she tore her ACL, Hudson tore his ACL while playing baseball in his senior season.
“I had my sympathy for the time, and then Hudson got hurt,” Rowan said. “And as soon as he got hurt, it’s kind of like the sympathy ended which isn’t a bad thing, but a lot of attention did go to him.”
When the spotlight went away, Rowan got to work. Mosley Head Volleyball Coach Michelle Mask said her offseason grind did not go unnoticed.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an athlete truly and honestly work as hard as she has worked over the last six, seven months to get back,” Mask said. “I mean, every day she is in the gym, whether it’s private lessons, physical therapy, calling me, seeing if I’ll toss the ball with her on a Saturday.”
Originally forecasted to miss her junior volleyball season, Rowan was cleared by her doctors on Monday to return to full-action volleyball at her own discretion.
“I remember my brother bringing me up to coach Mask one day and saying, ‘Sink or swim.’ And at some point, when it comes down to the injury, it’s either sink or swim, you can either dwell on it or you can get better from it,” Rowan said.
Rowan will have three opportunities to work back into the Mosley lineup this week as the Dolphins host Lincoln on Tuesday, Gulf Breeze on Wednesday, and FSU High School on Thursday.
