Oct. 22—JAMESTOWN — After six long weeks of sitting on the Jamestown High School volleyball team's bench — Claire Marker is back.
"At the very first conference game against St Mary's at home on Sept. 1, I jumped to block, and my foot landed on my teammate's foot," Marker said.
Marker suffered a dislocated patella with some soft tissue damage. In total, Marker missed playing in 18 of the Blue Jays' matches.
"I have felt like I was getting behind. It was also hard because I felt like I could play although I wasn't fully healed yet," Marker said. "I first had to rest a few weeks with lots of ice and compression. Once the swelling started to go down, I worked daily with our athletic training team and did see Colton Ormiston, PT (physical therapist) at JRMC (Jamestown Regional Medical Center) once weekly to advance strength, balance and jumping to help keep my knee safe from future injury.
"I continue working with all of them every week," she said. "Also, (athletic trainer) Shawnee (Hansen) has been 'taping' me to help protect it as well, and I'm wearing braces with all court activities. Bill Nelson has helped me modify my daily lifting activities as well. I have a great group of people willing to help me get back, and I'm so thankful."
Marker returned to play on Oct. 13 against Bismarck Legacy. The junior tallied eight kills in her first match back. In her next game against Bismarck High, she upped her production with 11 kills and one assist. She was named the PSP Network Player of the game after the match.
In the four matches she has played, Marker has totaled 31 kills, 4 blocks and 5 digs.
Marker said being out due to injury gave her a new leadership opportunity.
"Instead of being a leader on the court, I could be a leader off the court," Marker said. "I guess (an injury) teaches you to appreciate your health and ability to participate. It was for sure a lesson in patience. I just tried my best to be a good teammate; since I couldn't help on the court, I did my best to cheer and be positive on the bench."
Marker was about 8 years old when she started to play volleyball.
"I was drug to all of my sister's volleyball tournaments," Marker said. "Then I started practicing hitting with my sister in the yard or basement when I was old enough. JO (Junior Olympic) started in third grade ... School volleyball started in fifth grade. My first memory of playing the sport was playing fun games like circle the wagon at Blue Jay volleyball camp."
Marker was an outside hitter until her sophomore year when the team needed to fill the second middle position.
"I just briefly mentioned the idea to Sara of me practicing middle, and she was all about it, so I practiced and eventually got the start for that position," Marker said.
Marker ended her sophomore season as the Jays' second-leading attacker with 165 kills. During the offseason, she trained with Gabi Nordaker, one of the University of Jamestown's graduate assistant volleyball coaches. Nordaker played collegiate volleyball at Concordia University. Marker also used the offseason as an opportunity to work with Lucy Falk.
In the summer, she participated in Blue Jay volleyball camp and helped coach at the camp. In the summer she also typically participates in a few camps at various colleges for extra skill work.
Marker was one of six major returners for the Blue Jays this season. Last year the team ended the season at 22-14 overall and 13-5 in conference. Last season marked Jamestown's 12th trip to the state tournament in 16 years. The Blue Jays have not missed a state tournament since the 2021 season.
"We were the underdogs coming into the season, partly from our win-loss record from last year, and we are such a small school compared to all the other schools in "AA" volleyball," Marker said. "It's always fun to surprise people with success and kind of prove them wrong.
"I believe the end goal (for this team) is to win State," she said. "This team has such a strong bond on and off the court. We trust each other and have so much fun playing together. Also, Sara (Hegerle, Blue Jay volleyball coach) trusts us as well. She challenges us to keep each other accountable, push ourselves and each other to be better, in sport and in life."