Wheeler ready to get back on the court

In their final game of the season last November, the Portland State volleyball team faced off against Idaho State University to decide the Big Sky regular-season title. The Vikings played their hearts out and beat the Bengals for the honor, but took a huge loss in the process as outside hitter Jaklyn Wheeler went down with an anterior cruciate ligament tear in her knee. Wheeler was forced to sit out the Vikings’ loss to the University of Northern Colorado in the Big Sky tournament, and has spent the last few months recovering. It’s been a slow road back, but the senior is nearly ready to return to the court with her teammates as they prepare for the upcoming season.

Wheeler, who has been playing volleyball since she was a kid, is looking to start training again by mid-June, and head coach Michael Seemann said the plan is to have her back in full health in time for the first fall practice. That time couldn’t come soon enough for the Red Bluff, Calif., native—she can’t really remember a time when she wasn’t on the court competing.

“I got into it because of my mom,” Wheeler said. “She is the local high school volleyball coach. I basically grew up in the gym. I went to tournaments with her when my dad was out of town. I was surrounded [by volleyball] all my life and…fell in love with the sport.”

Her experience certainly shows. After transferring from the University of Oregon last year, Wheeler became a key contributor on the Viking squad, leading the team in kills and registering 17 double-doubles in her first season at PSU. She was honored as a member of the All-Big Sky first team and was named Big Sky Newcomer of the Year in 2012. Wheeler enjoys the competitive side of volleyball, but also the constant adjustment and
improvisation required in the sport.

“I love the immediate feedback you get,” she said. “Judging [by] what the ball does, you can tell if you did something correctly or incorrectly. If you did it incorrectly, you can tell what you did—it’s simple that way.”

Wheeler said that with her current limited mobility she has been able to focus on some of the more technical aspects of her game, and is anxious to find out which elements she’ll be able to add to the arsenal in her final season as a Viking.

“It will take some time for her to develop her game to a point where she was prior to injury,” Seemann said. “I have 100 percent faith in her [getting back] to that level.”

With so much of her focus on volleyball and her studies, Wheeler said she simply enjoys spending time with friends and family in her off time. She is working toward a degree in pre-physical therapy and wants to work in college athletics after graduation.

For now, Wheeler is concentrating on being healthy. She said that her teammates’ goal is to make it to the NCAA tournament in 2013, hoping to improve upon their incredible run last year. When asked about her favorite part of the 2012 season, Wheeler’s response was somewhat unexpected but completely in keeping with her positive approach both on and off the court.

“It kind of sounds bad, but in my perception it was the Idaho State game for the [Big Sky] title,” she said. “It’s obviously when I tore my ACL, but the fact that Cheyne Corrado stepped up and took my place—that was amazing. She did so well. The fact [that] the girls were able to pull through [and win] was great.”