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Emma Ortiz’s college volleyball dreams seemed impossible to achieve. Three months after recovering from a torn ACL, she tore her ACL again. Ortiz was 13 years old, and forced to miss her freshman volleyball season.

“It was a lot mentally … going through that at such a young age, and having to overcome that physically and mentally, and then having to do that process again,” Ortiz said. “It took a lot of strength on my part to even want to keep playing.”

But four years later, Ortiz, a freshman, has become a prominent presence as Syracuse’s libero. She’s a key piece on an SU team that won 12 straight games to begin the 2024 season. Fifteen games into her collegiate career, Ortiz is second on the team in digs (98) and third in digs per set (1.96). In the Syracuse Invitational from Sept. 19-22, she recorded 20 digs with just one error.

In hindsight, Ortiz feels lucky her second ACL tear came at a younger age. She realized it was early enough that it wouldn’t ruin her schedule and allow her enough time to chase her dream.

“I already set this dream for myself that I was going to play in college, and so I went through the rehab and I took the time, and I knew I still had time to be recruited,” Ortiz said.

It wasn’t until her junior year Ortiz realized she could play college volleyball. So, Ortiz transferred to Winter Park High School (Florida). There, she was coached by Stephanie Gibson, a member of the Florida High School Association Hall of Fame.

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In her first year playing for Winter Park, Ortiz recorded 227 digs, 284 receptions, 65 assists and 37 aces. She earned the Top Libero award and was an All-Tournament selection at an event sponsored by VBallRecruiter. She visited SU in April 2023 and committed soon after.

“She came into our program and had the opportunity to play at a high level with some other high-level players, and she was trying to find her groove in there,” Gibson said. “She saw a lot of play time as a junior and had the opportunity to be an impact player for us, and especially in some big games.”

Gibson first met Ortiz four years ago when she filled in as coach for Ortiz’s travel team. Ortiz was still recovering from her injury and couldn’t play.

“She was on the bench with me … The poor kid just was nonstop. She may have been injured, but she certainly wasn’t out,” Gibson said. “She might as well have been a coach on the sideline.”

Ortiz left her injuries in the past when she fully recovered from her second ACL tear three years ago. She only missed three out of 61 games at Winter Park.

Ortiz didn’t expect a fast start to her college career. Before the season started, however, defensive specialist/libero Nikki Shimao and setter Elizabeth Schuster sustained injuries, allowing Ortiz to jump up the depth chart.

In 15 games thus far, Ortiz has shown glimpses of being a consistent contributor on both sides of the ball. Performances such as four aces and five assists against Fordham or 13 digs in a match with Canisius show the best is yet to come for Ortiz — a sentiment SU head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam agrees with.

“We’ve been watching (Ortiz) for a while, but I did not expect her to have it and this level this fast,” Ganesharatnam said. “There is not anything I can say that is not good about her.”

Four years ago, Oritz’s rise to play at Syracuse seemed improbable. Now, against all odds, she’s emerged as a rising star.

“(Injuries) definitely made me the player that I am today, just because that’s (where) my work ethic came from,” Ortiz said.

Published on October 7, 2024 at 11:23 pm

Contact Aidan: aidan.tseng@gmail.com