Rachel Hockaday knew right away something was wrong.

It was the first set of the first match of the 2010 season, and the No. 9 ISU volleyball team was facing No. 13 Florida at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb.

Hockaday went up to go after a ball but, when coming down, landed on her left leg and felt a pop and twist in her left knee. There was instant pain for her upon landing.

“It felt like I had slipped on something wet,” Hockaday, who had never had knee problems before, said. “[The trainers] told me later that it was just the sensation of your ACL tearing, and that the feeling is like you slipped on something wet. Right away I knew I didn’t just tweak it. I knew it was something more serious.”

Rachel’s father, John Hockaday, a high school quarterback coach, was in the stands at the Qwest Center that day. In the game of football, he had been around injuries that looked similar to what he had just seen happen to his daughter and knew it was serious right away.

“I’ve got four kids, and she’s my only girl. And they are all really involved in sports, but she’s probably my toughest kid,” John said of Rachel. “When she went down, she doesn’t fake anything, so I knew she was really hurt.”

After Rachel was helped off the court, ISU coach Christy Johnson-Lynch called upon then-junior Carly Jenson, one of Rachel’s best friends, to fill in the outside-hitter position.

As difficult as it was for Johnson-Lynch to see one of her players go down with a serious injury, she felt confident in Jenson to take the court and contribute to the team.

“I just felt horrible for her because she is such a competitor,” Johnson-Lynch said of seeing Rachel go down with an ACL tear. “You hate to see that happen to anybody. But just knowing how much the game means to [Rachel], it just breaks your heart.”

At the Qwest Center, Rachel was examined by the tournament athletic trainers and given a test on her knee to indicate if it was a tear in her ACL.

When doctors examined her knee, it was determined that the injury was an ACL tear. They also found damage to Rachel’s meniscus, as well as a small fracture in her knee.

For Jenson, who finished with eight kills, nine digs and three block assists in the season opening loss to Florida, it was emotional seeing Rachel in the training room knowing that the injury would keep her out of competition for the rest of the season.

Rachel went through one month of rehabilitation because of her inability to straighten her leg before undergoing surgery on her knee to fix the ligament.

The road to recovery after surgery was a long one. While taking a full class load, Rachel would go to rehab before those classes and work out at 6:30 a.m. most days at the Jacobson Athletic Building with the athletic trainers.

“There were days that I would wake up and be really discouraged, but I knew that I had to work my absolute hardest to get back to where I was,” Rachel said. “So I was determined to work hard every day I was there. I took it really seriously. I made [rehabbing and working out] as competitive as I could and sort of made it my sport for the year.”

The 2012 season is now Rachel’s second season back in competition after the ACL tear. Hockaday made it back last season but had a tweak in her left meniscus again and never quite felt up to full strength the whole season. This season, however, is a different feeling for her.

“I definitely feel back to my old self and feel explosive,” Hockaday said. “I just have a new perspective, and I can look at the big picture. I realized that there’s more to this world than volleyball, but I definitely don’t take anything for granted.”

In Iowa State’s victory against then-No. 1 Nebraska in 2012, Rachel had 10 kills and was second on the team in digs with 17. Jenson was in the crowd for the historic win and felt that it was apparent just how far Rachel has come to be in the position she is now.

“She’s one of my best friends, and I wish her the best no matter what. But I just always had faith in her, that she would come back,” Jenson said. “She’s just a very motivated person, and I’m not surprised that she’s having success.”

Now in her fifth year as a redshirt senior, Rachel is only taking one class at Iowa State but still remains active, whether it is having lunch and bonding with teammates or spending time with friends. Whatever it is, it will not be taken for granted.

“People say, ‘Maybe you should go look for a job,'” Rachel said with a laugh. “I just say that I have the rest of my life to work, and I just want to enjoy this last semester and give everything I can to this volleyball team and live in this moment.”