If Erin Little wasn’t superstitious before this year’s season, no one could blame her if she is now. During preseason, her luck took a turn for the worse on Aug. 13. That would be Friday, Aug. 13.

On that ominous day, Little suffered an ankle sprain that kept her on the sidelines for the first two weeks of Syracuse’s record 17-0 start. But once she returned, the junior outside hitter stepped right back onto the court, not missing a beat and immediately contributing to the Orange offense.

‘It was definitely tough because it’s one of those things where you work all summer to come back to start the season,’ Little said. ‘It’s always hard to sit out, but I was always working to get back.’

Little wasn’t working to get back from a simple injury. She had to try and return from the worst injury she has suffered since she has been with the Orange. When the injury first happened, there was worry that she hadn’t just sprained the ankle, but had actually broken it.

It turned out it was only a sprain, but SU assistant coach Carol LaMarche said Little’s injury was as bad as it could’ve been without fully breaking it.

Even though the offense was able to perform well without her, not having one of its most experienced outside hitters was a clear drawback for Syracuse. Once she returned to action, however, SU’s offense was complete.

‘Everyone was hoping that she could get back as soon as possible,’ outside hitter Noemie Lefebvre said. ‘I was just happy that she was back and contributing to the team.’

Not only did Little’s return end her time on the bench, it also gave the Syracuse coaches another formidable hitter to plug into the lineup. But having won the first 17 games of the season, the coaches didn’t have much need to shake things up.

Still, if and when Little was needed, she would be ready. And with SU’s offensive game plan, she was going to get her chances.

‘It gives another option in the front row,’ LaMarche said. ‘She can definitely be an all-around player. She’s just focusing on being more consistent.’

The outside hitter didn’t need much adjustment time once she got back on the court, getting back into the groove quickly. Her time off the court gave her time to prepare physically and mentally.

As Little sat out, she said she watched the SU offense evolve, seeing where she’d fit in upon her return. Since getting back to action on Sept. 10 in the Orange’s match against Stony Brook at the Fordham Tournament, Little has recorded 47 kills, making 2.76 per set. Against Rider, her second match back, she made six kills.

‘When I first came back, it was just like I had been wanting to play for so long,’ Little said. ‘It was kind of hard, but you get back into it quickly.’

A week after returning, Little notched a career-best 20 kills against Louisiana-Monroe at the Sanford Tournament, good for the team lead in that match. Little also gives the Orange a solid server, something she proved when she notched three aces against Binghamton.

Still, despite all the stats she’s been putting up, Little isn’t completely confident her ankle is 100 percent healthy. She’s still a little superstitious, if you will. She’s said she is still hesitant to put a lot of pressure on it, unsure if it’s strong enough to handle a hard landing after coming down from a jump.

‘I don’t feel like I am sometimes,’ Little said. ‘I know in the beginning, I definitely was. We’ve been doing some rehab and stuff to get used to landing on it.’

Little said with more repetitions in practices and games, her ability to trust her ankle’s strength will improve. Once that happens, a starting spot could be in Little’s future.

‘I think she still needs to learn to trust her ankle a little bit more because she’s not fully jumping every time,’ LaMarche said. ‘She knows that, and she knows that she needs to fix that in order to have no doubt that she’s going to be starting.’

cjiseman@syr.edu

 

Published on October 4, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman