CINCINNATI — Mount Notre Dame High School senior Shaye Wolf has plenty of reasons to smile this summer. The joy is a result of her perseverance.
Nearly a year after Wolf tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee, she has a renewed gratitude for the game of volleyball.
"I can't even explain it," Wolf said Tuesday night. "It's so hard to just not being able to play a sport you love. I am so grateful for this whole year. Playing at beach tournaments - I'm having a blast."
Wolf is in Hermosa Beach, Calif., this week preparing for an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) beach volleyball national tournament.
This competition occurs just a month after Wolf fulfilled the first step of a dream to play beach volleyball in college. She made a commitment to play at Florida Atlantic University, a program that was eighth nationally in the NCAA last season.
"I just thought everything was perfect," said Wolf, the daughter of college basketball analyst and former Xavier University player Steve Wolf. "It was the school for me for sure."
MND has been the school for Shaye Wolf the past four years including being on a state championship team.
That's why it's been so important for Wolf to return for her senior season with the Cougars.
Wolf tore her ACL during MND's first scrimmage in 2021 against Louisville Sacred Heart Academy.
She thought doctors would say she would miss six to nine weeks. Instead, the timeline was six to nine months.
The rehab was difficult, but Wolf returned in a little more than five months after being strict with her physical therapy regiment while leaning on a network of support from family and friends.
"It was hard on my wife (Jeanne) and myself watching her go through this," Steve Wolf said. "And the deal was - today you can grieve, tomorrow you got goals."
Shaye relied on her siblings, too.
Sabrina, who won three state titles at MND, played volleyball at the University of Cincinnati. Chase, a St. Xavier football state champion, is a University of Wisconsin quarterback. Stevie, who won a state title at MND, plays volleyball at Xavier University.
The standout athletes sent text messages to their youngest sibling in order to lift her spirits and encourage her to return to the court. MND teammates also provided a great deal of support.
"I learned that if I could set my mind to something I really could get it there," Shaye Wolf said.
"I just feel like having a lot of people believe in me - it really helped because it helped me believe in myself also. You don't know how much you are loved until you get all those texts. I was just overwhelmed. It was amazing."
With her entire senior year ahead of her, Wolf is looking toward the future.
MND's first scrimmage this season is against Sacred Heart again on Aug. 6. But, instead of looking at the irony, the Wolf family isn't looking in the past. Its focus is on the journey.
"I always tell my kids there is a reason why the windshield on your car is this big and the rearview mirror is this big. So we don't look in the rearview mirror. We look in the windshield. If you look in the rearview mirror too long you are going to wreck. So go out and realize on Aug. 6 that you are going to kick butt. What she has done in this year - Aug. 6 is going to be a celebration," Steve Wolf said.
