Brandy Magee: A road to recovery
The Longhorns' first match of the 2007 season took place one day short of exactly one year since senior middle blocker Brandy Magee had last been on the court for Texas. Magee, the Longhorns all-time leader in career attack percentage (.363), went down in the first match of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee, but now she is back and ready for action. Magee had surgery on her knee just three weeks after incurring the season-ending injury, but she admits that was not nearly the hardest part of her long rehabilitation. "The hardest part was not being able to be out there with my team. I was there on the bench supporting them, but it is hard not being able to be on the court," Magee said. There was that hurdle, but there were even more day-to-day obstacles. "You don't really think about how much you rely on certain body parts, but I learned that my leg was kind of important," Magee joked. "It was really weird having to learn how to walk again." Despite having to sit out for a year, Magee stayed positive and still made an impact on Texas' Regional Finalist squad by cheering and providing leadership and advice for the team. "It was tough at first because I had never really been injured before, but I had to look at it from a different perspective. I knew that I would be able to come back this year and help this team out. It was tough, but it wasn't devastating -- I just had to deal with it." Magee not only dealt with it, but took the opportunity to learn a lesson from the experience. "I've approached this season differently because now I know how much I took for granted. You never appreciate getting to do what you love in the times when you don't really want to be at practice or you have other things going on. I know everyone does that sometimes, but having this happen to me has put everything in perspective. Now I realize that I have a second chance at doing something I love to do." "It is awesome getting to come back for a second chance with this talented group of girls," noted Magee about her teammates on the 2007 squad. "It was hard not being able to be out there and help them last year, but I knew that I would be able to come back. "This year we have a great team again, probably even a little bit better," Magee continued. Hitting at a .456 clip this year and having totaled 43 kills in six matches, it is safe to say that Brandy Magee is back. "I think that we have another shot at winning a championship and that's what we want to do," stated Magee. "I'm just looking forward to being out there this year. I missed it so much having to watch from the sidelines. It was tough to watch and I'm just glad that now I'm able to be out in the middle of it again."
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