By Andy Grossman
UNLV Assistant SID
It's tough enough being a student-athlete in today's college environment. But when you suffer a career-threatening injury, the climb back to competition is a long one.
To be able to successfully battle through that type of adversity, come back to competition and be one of the top players around is a rare occurrence.
UNLV volleyball senior Angie Sylvas has done just that.
During the seventh match of the 1997 season vs. New Mexico State at a tournament in Tucson, Ariz., Sylvas left her feet to attack a ball and when she came down, she knew she wouldn't be able to play the rest of the season.
"I came in for an inside set and I tried to hit at a sharp angle," Sylvas said. "I came down on just my left leg and since the floor there was a waxy basketball court with no dust, my foot stuck. When I went to pivot I twisted my knee.
"I tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), but I didn't tear any meniscus or anything like that, which is typical of that kind of injury, so that was at least a positive."
Sylvas, who went to high school at Cimarron-Memorial in Las Vegas, left the state of Nevada to play volleyball at San Jose State in 1995. UNLV's volleyball program did not start until 1996, so there wasn't an option to play for the Rebels. After two years in San Jose, Sylvas decided to come home and play for UNLV and began the 1997 season.
Sylvas excelled along with the team during the beginning of the season as they got off to a best-ever start of 7-1. During that stretch, Sylvas was rewarded for her efforts with UNLV's first-ever WAC Volleyball Player of the Week award. She was also named to two all-tournament teams. During the team's third tournament of the season was when her injury took place.
"We got off to such a great start that year," Sylvas said. "Everybody was positive and the whole team was working really well together. We just kept going and there were really no limits to how good we could be, that's for sure."
Unfortunately for the Rebels that year, as long as Sylvas was in the lineup there were no limits because after she went down, the team won only two of its remaining 19 matches.
Sylvas spent the rest of the year having reconstructive surgery done on her knee and was granted a medical redshirt, which meant if she was able to recover from her injury she would still have two years of eligibility left to play at UNLV.
There was a chance, however, that she would never get back to the same level of play that she enjoyed while being healthy.
"The first six months of my rehab were not tough enough," Sylvas said. "I went to my own therapist (not affiliated with UNLV) and the conditioning and rehab was too soft and I was babying myself and my knee. I was still down in the dumps and I thought that my career was shot and I wasn't going to accomplish the goals that I had set for myself before."
Following that stretch of time, she visited the UNLV athletic training department and after a conversation with assistant athletic trainer Grace Golden, she decided that is was time to get focussed on getting better.
"After talking with Grace about the pain I was feeling in my knee, I made up my mind that I was going to be good again and be back at that high level," Sylvas said. "That was definitely the turning point.
"I had six weeks before the 1998 season was going to start and I was in the training department everyday for a couple of hours working as hard as I possibly could."
Sylvas says although she didn't see herself getting back to 100 percent, she never had any quit in her. "I was never that low, but I was low enough to the point where I thought I would never play again as far as starting time and making solid contributions to the team. I really didn't think I would be able to do that again."
She was finally cleared to practice late in the summer of 1998, but she wasn't 100 percent.
"I worked with Grace around the clock and when the season started I felt about 75 percent," Sylvas said.
Well, with the kind of season both her and the team had in 1998 it sure didn't look like she wasn't completely healthy. With her contributions, the Rebels turned in their best record in program history finishing the year 23-8 and ending up second in the WAC's Mountain Division with an 11-3 mark.
The team also qualified for its second WAC Tournament berth and recorded its first WAC Tourney win with a victory over Utah in straight sets, eventually falling to No. 6 Brigham Young in the semifinals. In addition, the team received some national recognition as it spent three weeks in the national poll by receiving votes for the first time.
Although, Sylvas doesn't necessarily focus on individual statistics or accolades, her awards and numbers illustrate what a great season she had.
She was named second team All-WAC and became UNLV's first-ever All-WAC Tournament team member. She was also named the tournament MVP at UNLV's first tournament of the season in Alaska.
She led the team in service aces (0.45 pg, tied for 3rd in the WAC), led the team kills (4.08 pg, 5th in the WAC) and led the team in digs (2.66 pg, 20th in the WAC). In addition, Sylvas had 12 matches in which she recorded double figures in both kills and digs.
All these achievements, and she still says she wasn't even at the top of her game.
"I never considered myself to be at 100 percent last year," Sylvas said. "There were a lot of new things that I was learning because I had to adapt to the way my knee was feeling. I didn't have the same explosive power and the same quickness that I had before. I think I am starting to develop the power and quickness again, but it has taken such a long time."
As far as the statistics go, Sylvas doesn't consider it a big deal. "I wasn't really worried about myself as much as in the past, which I think helped my statistics. I cared much more about the team's accomplishments. That was different for me because at San Jose State all we seemed to care about was the individual stuff, but here at UNLV, the coaching staff stresses the team statistics."
Sylvas can't wait for her senior season to get underway and she knows her teammates feel the same way.
"We all have the same goal this year," Sylvas said. "To go as far as we can. I want to contribute to meeting that goal and it is really up to us and what we have in our heads. Our attitude is going to determine if we get to the next level or not. I am excited about this year. We are going to be really good and I think I will be at 100 percent when the season starts."
With Sylvas' history, no one should underestimate how far she can take this team. The 1999 season begins at home on Friday, Sept. 3 with the Official All-Star Cafe/UNLV Volleyball Classic.
