L-P’s Emma Garretson, Olivia Shetterly excited to be back on court

On Tuesday, La Salle-Peru senior Emma Garretson got to put on a volleyball jersey and play in a match for the first time since her freshman year.

“It felt great,” said Garretson, who missed the past two seasons with injuries. “I was very nervous because it’s my first game since my freshman year, but when I was out there I went into a zone and blocked everything out and I just did what I could do.

“I’m excited for the season.”

Garretson wasn’t the only L-P player to return to the court Tuesday as classmate Olivia Shetterly returned after missing last season due to an ACL tear.

“It felt amazing,” Shetterly said. “I’m glad that all the work I put in this past year as paid off to be able to get back on the court and play like I used to and even better.”

Garretson broke her ankle during basketball her freshman year.

She broke the same ankle again as a sophomore and broke it again for a third time the summer before her junior year.

The third break required surgery in Chicago.

“It was very hard because I was looking forward to sports in high school,” Garretson said about all the missed time. “That’s all I thought of, but I just have to know that everything doesn’t go as planned. I learned a lot of things through my journey and now I think I’m a better person from that.”

After surgery and a month on crutches, Garretson entered physical therapy for the fourth time in her high school career in December.

“I worked with my PT from December to around May and she helped me through so much,” Garretson said.

Shetterly tore her ACL during summer league basketball in June 2021 and had surgery in July.

“It was rough,” Shetterly said. “At first it was really rough just accepting the fact that I couldn’t play or be active or anything.”

By November, Shetterly was lifting and doing physical therapy and she started running in December.

“Just keeping a positive mindset really helped it all come together in the end,” Shetterly said.

Garretson and Shetterly both had a strong start to the season against Princeton.

Garretson put down a team-high seven kills, while Shetterly had three kills and two blocks and ended the match with a quick hitter kill in the middle.

In the Springfield Lutheran tournament over the weekend, Garretson had 19 kills, while Shetterly had 14 kills and five blocks.

“You have to have offense and they bring offense to the table,” L-P coach Mark Haberkorn said.

Garretson said she’s looking forward to making up for lost time.

“I’m hoping to try to get what I missed out on,” Garretson said. “I want to get all the hits I can. I want to work well as a team because I was always sitting out on the sidelines. I want to play in the moment because I know it’s not going to be too long until our last match.”