As most serious athletes will attest, reaching the top is often preceded by a series of setbacks and disappointments. Kori Schauer, NIU’s hard-hitting volleyball standout, knows all about such hardships.

Better yet, she knows about comebacks.

Schauer, a physical education major, came to NIU last season following a successful volleyball career at Belvidere High School. There she was twice named to the All-Northern Illinois Conference volleyball team, led BHS to a conference title in 1987 and runner-up the following year. She was also named NIC female athlete of the year after earning three letters apiece in volleyball, basketball and softball.

Schauer’s prep accomplishments, combined with an intimidating frame of 6-3, and spikes that register on the Richter scale, turned a lot of heads, and attracted the attention of NIU‘s head volleyball coach Pete Waite.

Shauer was equally interested in what Waite had to offer.

“I really liked the coaches,” Schauer said. “Coach Waite wanted to do a lot of good things, and I was really excited about being in his first recruiting class.”

But Schauer’s first year on the roster did not turn out as expected. During a preseason tournament last fall, she took a quick turn on the court that tore the ligaments in her left knee. The extent of the injury left her unable to play for the remainder of the season.

“They decided to red-shirt me,” Shauer said. “It was the best thing for the team.”

Since then, arthroscopic surgery and a knee brace have put Schauer back on the court with little effect on her performance. Schauer and teammates Julie Kreiling-Zinke and Shauna Cambell received all-tournament honors last weekend at the Kansas Jayhawk Earlybird Classic, where NIU finished 2-1. She then led the team to a victory Tuesday against Marquette University with 15 kills.

Still, Schauer is reluctant to talk about her own performances and chooses to highlight the team as a whole.

“Preseason went really well.” Schauer said. “It only took a few practices for us to start clicking, and this year’s bench is so deep that anyone could start.”

Schauer feels that blocking is the area she most needs to improve personally, but has big hopes for the team.

“I think we’ll have a very good season with a winning record,” Schauer said. “I feel we’ll win conference, and right now that’s our team goal.”

Coming from Schauer, that’s a promising hope for the Huskies, who play today at Butler University, and round out the weekend with a tournament at Ball State University Saturday. The next home match is scheduled for Tuesday against Bradley University in Chick Evans Field House at 7:00 p.m.