Tough as nails

It was Maggie Ambrose’s turn to hit.

Even though the junior was the primary setter for the Ruston High JV volleyball team, her rotation came up and it was time for her to set up as an outside hitter as the second set ended.

Sept. 16, 2021. Ruston is hosting Airline to break up its district schedule.

Maggie remembers soaring into the air and giving the ball a forceful strike, one she doesn’t even think ended in a kill.

But she remembers the sound her knee made when she landed.

It was an instant pop, mixed with indescribable noises as she put all her weight into her left knee, causing it to buckle beneath her. The next day, she went in for an official diagnosis.

“It was tough to accept at first, especially after we got the MRI results back,” Maggie said.

Torn ACL — two days before homecoming and less than a month into her season.

But if you want to know Maggie Ambrose and how she attacks each day — even with adversity staring her in the face — what happened in the days and months after that Thursday night match in September 2021 speaks for itself.

Two days after tearing her ACL, ending her junior season and relegating her to the bench, Maggie went to homecoming. On crutches and a knee brace.

“Well, I already bought my dress, I already have a date, might as well go,” Maggie recalled. “My date was so sweet; he would go dance and then come check on me.”

It’s what makes her one of one for Ruston volleyball. Her coaches and family see her as an inspiration. And that was just the first step in her journey through adversity.

“She’s few and far between,” Ruston volleyball coach Lucie Hunt said.

Gut check

Maggie was warned about the strain of physical therapy after her surgery. Monotonous strength training, movement exercises and stretching would make up the next 11 months of her life as she worked to get back on the court and play the game she loved.

But she found it to be one of the best parts — one of the few — in her recovery.

Three times a week for 47 weeks, Maggie would head to Legacy Outpatient Therapy Services (LOTS) and work with Chase Patterson to share laughs while making each other stronger in the process. Day by day, her strength was increasing.

And by the end of May, Maggie was entering her final week of physical therapy on her way to graduating out of rehab and back to her true form.

But first, she wanted to volunteer for the 2022 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League event for USA Volleyball in Bossier City, Louisiana.

Summer was in its infancy stages, and Maggie wasn’t about to pass up the chance to see and work next to some of the world’s best volleyball players. As a thank-you to the dozens of volunteers for the week-long event, USA Volleyball let the girls scrimmage against one another.

Maggie, of course, was going to play.

During the scrimmage, she made a move backwards in the start of a transition. And that’s when her left knee buckled again. And she heard a pop — same as she heard almost 11 months ago.

She refused to believe it. “This can’t be happening again,” she thought.

“I feel like this time I was in a lot more denial,” Maggie said. “I walked around on it fine. We got the MRI, and I was kind of convincing myself it wasn’t torn again.”

But it was. Two ACL tears within a year of each other.

Within five days of the second tear, Maggie had surgery. And the next day, she returned to physical therapy.

Allison Ambrose, Maggie’s mom, couldn’t believe her daughter was back to square one. She was right there as Maggie spent close to a year in physical therapy and was eager to see her back to full health going into her senior season.

“I don’t think we give our kids enough credit for what they can endure,” Allison said.

Hunt remembers hearing the news, and the doubts that came with it. Would Ruston have its starting setter?

“It was like a gut check, like what are we going to do?” Hunt recalled. But Maggie had one mission on her mind. No fear. No doubt. She was going to play her senior season for the Bearcats — her family.

Maggie remembers watching from the bench for the rest of the 2021 season after her first tear and how much her teammates were there for her. The team would move the huddle to where Maggie sat on the bench, and she traveled with the team for every match afterward.

She never wanted to be disconnected from her team and the game. She sat and watched and learned to see the game from a different perspective.

And she knew she had to bring that for her senior season.

“Volleyball has meant so much to me, and once I started playing in sixth grade it kind of became my main thing. I knew my team needed me,” Maggie said. “If I could, why not? I already was going to deal with pain either way, and I really don’t want to go through rehab again.”

Proud is not even the word

If you walk into Ruston High gymnasium and observe the Bearcats as they warm up, music is bumping and energy is high. Hunt works on peppering drills with the team, with each player high-fiving one another and working on digs before the match begins.

And when the buzzer sounds and the starting lineups take the floor, you’ll see No. 2 for Ruston, with a black brace from her lower left thigh to her knee — unaware of what it took for her to get back on the floor.

That’s what makes Maggie a key piece in Ruston’s 2022 season. Hunt knew she was tough before, but watching her night in and night out perform at a high level cements Hunt’s admiration for what the senior setter has given to the program.

“She’s tough as nails, and she wants to go all out her senior year,” Hunt said. “She’s one of the most important people on the team. She gives 1000% every time she’s on the floor.”

Over her last two matches, Maggie has 32 assists, 5 service aces and a block — on a torn ACL. Yes, there was doubt of diving on the leg at the beginning of the season or coming down after a big swing. But now, Maggie doesn’t even think about it. After all, there’s not much more she can do to it. It’s already torn.

Allison Ambrose has a natural bias as her mother, but said she’s never seen anyone overcome as many odds at such a young age like Maggie. Volleyball has been Maggie’s life since the sixth grade She’s an inspiration for Allison.

Maggie’s volleyball career will end after this season, and she doesn’t plan to have surgery on the knee again. As the season winds down and a potential postseason run awaits the Bearcats, Allison watches games differently than before — with her emotions bubbling up to the surface more times than not.

Through a crackling voice but with strong conviction, she can’t truly describe what her daughter has overcome — and what it will be like when it’s all over.

“Seeing your child do what they love is so fulfilling but to see them overcome adversity and do what they love - It just hits different this year,” Allison said. “It just stirs something in you. Proud is not even the word.”