By Matt Browning

Olivia Carlson from Centre has had to overcome one of the most serious injuries an athlete can endure. In July, Carlson dislocated her neck and had surgery on both the front and back of her neck. This will result in her not being able to play sports until the end of volleyball season, at the earliest.

“I am currently doing leg workouts with my bodyweight, and also the Hips led machine as I am unable to lift anything with my arms,” Carlson said.

Last year, Carlson was a first team all-league selection where she recorded 177 kills and a 95 percent serve percentage. While she was hoping to eclipse all of her statistics and accolades from a year ago, right now Carlson is just thankful for potentially having the opportunity to play this season.

“My goal now is to be strong enough and for it to be safe for me to play in our substate games,” Carlson said.

Carlson was playing summer volleyball and went to morning weights before her injury and was anticipating working on hitting to all spots on the floor. Now, she is just excited to be back out there with her teammates.

“I am looking forward to being able to get back to jumping and doing all of the volleyball training during the next offseason,” Carlson said.