What Stephanie Ferrell remembers about that March day was going up for a tight quick set and then laying with her back to the volleyball net, staring into Liz Ka'aihue's stunned face. Everything in between is a blank except for the crack she heard very vividly.

It was the sound of her ankle breaking and the end of her spring season. Ferrell, the DH to replace departed University of Hawai'i All-American Jamie Houston this season, did not jump again until three weeks ago.

"The last thing I remember was Liz's mouth wide open," Ferrell says now. "I thought, 'Oh my God.' I just laid there and cried."

The Rainbow Wahine redshirt sophomore is smiling again, sneaking skateboard rides and playing on the beach. She estimates she is at 85 percent going into the start of two-a-day practices tomorrow and fully expects to be starting at hitter when the 'Bows open Aug. 28 against Western Michigan. Her most compelling concern now is not to go too hard and reverse her remarkable progress.

She might not be back touching 10 feet 5 yet, but she expects to be a bunch closer than she was when first cleared to jump. The leap that launched yet another return to the Land of Ahs was down some nine inches, but Ferrell even found inspiration in that.

"I just have to give myself some time and not be too hard on myself," said Ferrell, who played in all but two matches last year, starting three and just scratching her potential. "I can't get frustrated with the fact I'm not hitting over the block anymore. I have to try and use my tool shots and everything. It's a good chance to learn how not to always have to use power. I need to be a smarter hitter."

Seventh-ranked Hawai'i needs the wisdom of the woman who won't be 20 until the day after a brutal trio of preseason tournaments ends. Pretty much every team it plays the first three weeks was in last year's NCAA Tournament and two — Texas and Stanford — made up half the final four.

Ferrell promises her new red hair — "I tried to go brown, but my mom, I guess, went too light" — does not come with the traditional temper. She calmly and analytically details her difficult rehabilitation.

It started here in the spring, when she used her newly found free time to focus on her physical and academic health. Her upper body got stronger along with her study habits.

She spent two months home in Los Angeles doing Pilates, core work and strengthening her ankle. She ate "healthier" because the thought of walking to the grocery store for junk food with her cast was so discouraging. She realized how much she missed being with her teammates, and volleyball.

"It re-enhanced my love for the game," Ferrell said. "This six months was so hard for me. I'd never gone this long without playing. I realized this is my passion, my love, what I want to do until I can't play anymore."

That is precisely what USC coach Mick Haley and his wife told the UH coaches when they recruited Ferrell. Carrie Haley found Ferrell in Starlings, a non-profit club Olympian Kim Oden co-founded to provide opportunities for girls "regardless of their socioeconomic background," and invited her to join the Haleys' club team.

Ferrell's learning curve was straight up, just like her jump. The Haleys, seeing Olympics in Ferrell's future, encouraged her to spread her wings when it came to college. Her flight to Hawai'i for a recruiting visit was her first. She hated the trip but loved Manoa as much as she loves volleyball.

That feeling has only been "re-enhanced" the past six months. Ferrell hopes the next five months are even more productive.