Bianca May signs with Illinois:
This is taken from a Chicago Tribune article published 8/26/21 by Tony Baranek entitled "A torn ACL. A senior season, gone. But Illinois recruit Bianca May maintains a positive outlook every day for Sandburg."
While preparing for the new girls volleyball season, my last stop was at Sandburg.
Basically, it was a bad news, good news mission. I was there to interview senior setter Bianca May. Early in the summer, she blew out her left knee and will be out for the season.
That, obviously, is the bad news.
The good news is shortly after having surgery, May committed to Illinois. Her college future is secure. Talk about an emotional roller coaster.
“A lot of ups and downs,” May said, smiling. “But I’m super excited about going to Illinois. The coaches are some of the best people I’ve ever met in my life.
“They not only care about you as a player, they care about you as a person. After the injury, they stuck with me and showed faith in me. It’s definitely my dream place to be.”
The injury ended what would have been a four-year varsity career at Sandburg.
May earned her first headline as a freshman, after her serving helped the Eagles defeat Lockport. She was one of the team leaders in aces that season, becoming the primary setter after Rachel DeFries graduated in 2019. Sandburg coach David Vales told me a lot about why he will miss having her talent. But his heart hurts even more for another reason.
“You get excited for your senior year,” Vales said. “You’re at the top of the food chain. You’re going to lead by example, lead by voice. You call it ‘your’ season, and it means a little something more.
“To have it taken away by something like that is unfortunate. I definitely feel sorry for her about it.” May’s world went topsy-turvy during a club practice near the end of June. It was just a week before her team was headed for nationals.
There was very little drama when it happened. “I was running for a jump set and just came down really weird,” May said. “When I landed, my knee went inward and I felt it pop.
“I didn’t even think I tore it at first. Both myself and my coaches kind of thought I tweaked my knee, just because I wasn’t in that much pain. We were like, ‘OK, there is probably something wrong. But nothing horrible.’”
There was much drama — and then confusion — when an MRI revealed a torn ACL in her left knee.
“I did not know about ACLs at all,” May said. “When I first found out that I tore it, I was sitting in my bed. My mom called me because the doctor called her. When I looked it up online about what to do with a torn ACL, there were 40,000 different answers.”
On July 26, May had surgery. It went well. But even with successful surgery, the road back is long and arduous. I’m glad to say, though, that so far it has been filled with support.
Some of it has come from Ann Marie Remmes, a club teammate and Benet senior who is committed to Creighton.
“She is one of my closest friends and tore her ACL as well,” May said. “We tore them 11 days apart, and she had surgery a week after mine. “So, we’ve been going through it together, 100%. I could not go through this nearly as well without her. Obviously, it’s not a good thing that we both tore our ACLs, but if we were going to do it, having it together was the best possible thing.”
May hopes to be back on the court in the spring. Meanwhile, she’s honoring her commitment to Sandburg volleyball.
When I showed up at practice last week, she was the first one to arrive. She hasn’t missed a beat being with the team during the preseason practices. Unless there is a therapy session that day, she’ll be on the bench for every match.
And she’s keeping it upbeat.
“It’s nice to see, especially in the early stages, that every day something gets better and there is some kind of progress,” May said. “Even if it’s tiny progress, it’s rewarding.
“I’m trying to take every small accomplishment and celebrate it so the long process doesn’t feel as grueling. I have accepted what has happened. The main thing is to get better.”
