Every day, Sara Lein walks onto the volleyball court and thanks her lucky stars.

After winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year award at Fairfield in 1998, the senior outside hitter decided to follow coach Todd Kress to NIU. Unfortunately for Lein, she was forced to sit out the 1999 season after failing to get a release from Fairfield to compete at NIU. So she took the season to improve on her already stellar game.

With Kress noticing Lein playing at a higher level than any other player in his coaching career, expectations were rising high for the former MAAC Player of the Year.

Then the unthinkable happened.

On the first day of school on Aug. 28, 2000, Lein tore her anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee, forcing her to sit out yet another season. The Minnetonka, Minn., native landed funny, turned her leg and blew out her knee. Doctors said the injury could have been career-ending.

After having surgery to repair her torn ACL, Lein was informed by the doctors that they had to cut off half of her right kneecap, meaning she would have a bad leg for the rest of her life.

“It was totally depressing, totally unexpected. Then the doctor told me that they had to take off half of my kneecap. That made me feel real good,” Lein said. “Everything I worked for, everything I wanted to be, will never happen. I will never get to know what it will feel like. Everything I worked hard for 10 years went out the door.”

But the injury did not stop Lein from obtaining her goal of finishing out her collegiate career. She knew the worst thing she could do was not try. If it didn’t work out, then at least she gave it a try.

Lein came into this season still feeling the effects from her injury. Lein has to wear a brace for every practice and game. It takes her minutes to take the tape off her knee from wearing the brace, and it has limited her playing ability from the way she can approach the ball to how fast she can run.

And even though Lein has not fully recovered from the injury, mentally and physically, she has been able to overcome her obstacles to play a key part of the Huskie offense this season.

In the second to last game of the season, Kress implemented Lein into the starting lineup, replacing Carrie Blankenship after she suffered from a right shoulder injury. The senior responded with her best match in her NIU career, hitting a school record .867 attack percentage and nailing home 13 kills and no errors on 15 total attempts.

“We are so happy that she was able to come back and contribute the way she has this season,” Kress said. “She has helped us out a lot down the stretch.”

With her injury, Lein could have applied for a medical redshirt to return for a sixth season in 2002. But with her knee deteriorating, Lein decided this would be her last season.

“I know I can’t be at 100 percent,” Lein said. “Everyone knows I won’t ever return to 100 percent. Maybe 80 on a good day. You just have to take things day-by-day. I am very fortunate to be practicing and playing out there, something I am very lucky to be doing. I am very lucky to even see that court. That is something I don’t take for granted.”