During the offseason, Jess Schaben had to fix a tear in her shoulder; now, she’s ready to tear through the Big 12. 

Throughout Schaben’s career at Iowa State, the 6-foot-4 outside hitter has dealt with a torn labrum. 

“It started my freshman year,” Schaben said. “The Virginia tournament, that was one of our first preseason tournaments, is when I tore it, so I played with it that year and then last year.”

Even though Schaben had a painful injury, she didn’t let it hamper her performance on the court.

The Harlan, Iowa, native finished the 2016 season with a team leading 349 kills and awards like: American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Honorable Mention All-American, AVCA All-Midwest Region Team, and All-Big 12 First Team. 

Jess Schaben Has Been Named to the #Big12VB Preseason Team! https://t.co/01KbQn6PXl#cyclONEnation pic.twitter.com/hLg3CqHFTf

— Cyclone Volleyball (@CycloneVB) August 2, 2017

Schaben focused her attention on her all-around game during her sophomore campaign, increasing her number of digs from 89 to 242. This work was shown all season long, but especially in the Northern Iowa match.

The 6-foot-2-inch outside hitter finished the match with 22 kills and 22 digs, recording the first 20-20 game for Iowa State since 2010.

Schaben looked invincible on the court, but between matches was another story.

“I tried not to think about [the pain],” Schaben said. “It was mainly after the game that I would really feel it.” 

The injury was bad enough that head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch had to limit Schaben in practices.

“Last year, [Schaben] swung on game day, and that was it,” Johnson-Lynch said. “She did not get any hitting reps in practice. Literally, up until game time warm ups, that would be the only time she hit.”

Schaben said that the injury and being restricted in practice frustrated her throughout her sophomore season.

“When you’re doing six-on-six drills, you want to put the ball down for your team, but I was unable to do that last year,” Schaben said.

In December, Schaben and the Iowa State coaching staff decided that surgically repairing the shoulder injury would be Schaben’s best option. Since the surgery, Schaben has been rehabbing.

“All spring she was not allowed to hit,” Johnson-Lynch said. “It was a pretty slow recovery from that, and she just started hitting again in the summer.”

The road to recovery has been long, but Schaben sees an end in sight.

“I would say I’m close to [100 percent],” Schaben said. “There’s still a little tightness.”

Before the surgery, Johnson-Lynch said that the injury affected her swing but also her blocking abilities as well. When the ball would push into Schaben’s arm on a block attempt, it would push on the injured shoulder.

Johnson-Lynch thinks Schaben will be a much better blocker without the constant pain this year. This will also expand Schaben’s role on offense with a healthy shoulder.

Today marks the first day on my road to recovery. I’m so thankful for my family, coaches and… https://t.co/0dsiqfjRxA

— Jess Schaben (@Schabenmylegs) December 15, 2016

Schaben and Johnson-Lynch hope to put the injury behind them, because they have big plans for the upcoming season.

Johnson-Lynch wants to rock the boat in the Big 12 with most people picking Kansas and Texas to finish in the top two of the conference.

The team’s goal is to make a 12th-consecutive appearance at the NCAA Tournament. In Iowa State’s tournament streak, the team has made a few deep runs, but it’s been a few years since the Cyclones have advanced past the second round.

When asked about a deep run this year, Johnson-Lynch was confident.

“Absolutely,” Johnson-Lynch said. “That’s the goal. That’s the goal.”

Johnson-Lynch continued on about her team’s height and physicality, but she noted that it takes more than that.

“We are just a great-looking, physically-imposing team, but that’s not all you can be,” Johnson-Lynch said. “Volleyball is so much about skill, rhythm, tempo; there’s so many moving parts.”

When Schaben was asked about a deep run, she agreed with her coach.

“I think so,” Schaben said. “It’s been really fun, seeing what we have right now. It’s really exciting. The different energy this team brings.”

Whether or not the Cyclones make a deep run remains to be seen.

One thing is for sure, though. A healthy Jess Schaben is a big piece to this Iowa State team, and Christy Johnson-Lynch is glad to have her back.

“[I’m] really, really relieved in a way because she was such a nice hitter for us last year.” Johnson-Lynch said. “[I’m] just excited about her coming back on the court for us.”