Volleyball: Millard North grad delivers for Cyclones after teammate goes down

AMES, Iowa — Point, Rachel Hockaday.

Her kill put Iowa State ahead 12-8 in the opening game of Saturday's season opener against Florida.

But as the outside hitter landed on the court, her left knee buckled beneath her.

Carly Jenson saw her teammate grabbing the back of her leg.

“My heart sank,” Jenson said.

Then Jenson looked over at Christy Johnson-Lynch.

“Are you ready to go?” ISU's coach asked.

Jenson, a 5-foot-11 junior from Millard North, had no choice.

While Hockaday was being helped off the court at Qwest Center Omaha, Jenson was trying to calm herself.

“I was definitely nervous,” Jenson said. “Once I got the feel of the game and got myself going, everything just flowed.”

Jenson collected eight kills, nine digs and four blocks in the 3-1 loss to Florida.

With Hockaday on crutches Sunday, Jenson was in the starting lineup. Jenson had 14 kills and 16 digs in the Cyclones' 3-1 win over Kentucky.

“Carly Jenson played about as well as we could have hoped for,” Johnson-Lynch said. “She just played terrific.”

Johnson-Lynch said Hockaday, a junior captain who has started since her freshman season, likely is out for the season and will apply for a medical redshirt. A torn ACL was the expected diagnosis.

Jenson drove Hockaday to the doctor's office Monday afternoon. They are roommates.

“Her spirits are up, and she's actually doing really well,” Jenson said. “She's getting a lot of text messages from the most random people, so she knows she has a lot of support.”

Hockaday, an All-Big 12 honorable mention selection a year ago, ranked second on the team in kills per game (3.22) and fourth in digs (2.96).

Jenson collected 17 kills in limited court time a season ago.

But Johnson-Lynch said Jenson has trained for this chance the past two years.

“She's an explosive hitter who puts a lot of heat on the ball,” Johnson-Lynch said. “She has a pretty, petite build, and she doesn't look like a very physical player, but she's got a great arm. She's just fun to watch.”

The night before Jenson's double-double against Kentucky, Hockaday sent her teammate an encouraging text message from her hotel room.

“That really helped me,” Jenson said. “She's a great friend.”

Johnson-Lynch, who praised Hockaday before the season for becoming a leader, talked to the injured player shortly after Saturday's match.

“Her first thoughts were: ‘I don't want to go out there in a wheelchair; I don't want this to be about me,' ” Johnson-Lynch said. “She's going to be a leader, whether she's on or off the court.”

Now it's up to Jenson, who attended the same high school as Johnson-Lynch, to step in.

It's unfamiliar territory for Jenson, who started three matches during her first two years in Ames.

“This is definitely not what I expected from this season,” Jenson said. “I expected just to keep cheering on my teammates and work as hard as I could in practice.

“Obviously, that has completely changed.”

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