Diving, spiking and running was all it took to take sophomore Andrea Janss out of varsity volleyball for the season, with a stress fracture on her left vertebrae.

“[A stress fracture] is a reaction in the bone that is not necessarily a clean fracture,” trainer Matt Johnson said. “[It is] just a spot that takes a little more stress when the bone gets weakened.”

Johnson said a stress fracture could be caused by overuse or lack of calcium and Vitamin D.

“[I was] starting every game and was playing all the way around,” Janss said. “I was diving a lot, so it was probably the diving.”

Though she’s had this same injury before, Janss said she was more distraught this year because she had to endure different physical rehab.

“Last year I fractured my right side, so I kind of already knew what it was about,” Janss said. “When I fractured my left side this year, it was devastating. It’s frustrating when your body doesn’t match up with your mind.”

Though she has not been attending the tournaments, Janss said she is still very close with the team and coaches.

“I obviously don’t attend all the tournaments because it’s a long drive and that gives me pain, [but] I’m almost like an assistant coach for the team,” Janss said. “I help out, and I’m still really close to them.”