Walton volleyball player doesn't have time for the pain

By Michael Carvell

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Walton High School's Morgan Smith doesn't have time for the pain.

Six months ago, Smith could barely walk down the hall after complications from hip surgery and she was considered a long shot she'd be able to play sophomore season on Walton's volleyball team.

However, through sheer willpower and determination -- and rigorous sessions of physical therapy -- Smith not only made it back to the court, but has also helped spark the Raiders to an improbable state championship run.

Smith is the libero, or defensive specialist, for Walton, which plays heavily-favored Pope in the Class AAAAA championship at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The 5-foot-3 Smith has played the entire season with excruciating pain in her left hip joint, along with numbness in her leg, and faces at least one and perhaps more surgeries in the coming months. But you would never know it from observing Smith in uniform, wearing a big grin on her face while making digs, dives and saves all over the court.

"I admire Morgan so much," Walton coach Suzanne Fitzgerald said. "I was in the Marine Corps and have done a lot of things in my life that demanded mental toughness. Morgan inspires me every day and inspires her teammates.

"We know what all she goes through. She just refuses not to play. And that attitude has permeated through our team, as far as never giving up."

Pope-Walton is the last of four state title matches at Marietta High School on Saturday. Wesleyan squares off against Westminster for the AA/A championship at 11 a.m., followed by AAA's Columbus vs. Woodward at 1:30 p.m., and AAAA's Marist vs. Whitewater at 4.

Pope is the closest thing to a superpower in the state this season. The Greyhounds are ranked nationally by PrepVolleyball.com and boast a 51-2 record, with both losses coming against Walton during the regular season.

Pope and Walton squared six times in their heated rivalry, with Pope winning the last two meetings on Oct. 10 for the Area 1-AAAAA championship.

"Yeah, we know we're underdogs, but we enjoy that role and feel like we have nothing to lose on Saturday," Fitzgerald said.

Walton (44-5) is one of the state's biggest surprises, reaching the championship after failing to make the playoffs last year. It was Smith's gut instinct about the team's potential that provided the motivation.

"I knew how much talent we had this year and I felt like we had a good chance to go to state," Smith said. "You never know if you'll have another opportunity to be on a great team like this again. I had to be on this team and I was willing to do whatever it took to play."

Smith's trouble began around two years ago when she collapsed while playing basketball due to what doctors initially believed to be a hip fracture. However, after Smith showed little improvement after five months on crutches, she was diagnosed with a dime-sized benign tumor attached to the left hip joint and underwent surgery.

Last year as a freshman, Smith enjoyed one of her proudest moments -- playing volleyball on the same team as older sister Cameron, who was a senior captain. But Morgan again started feeling sharp pains in her hip after the season. The tumor had grown back in the same spot.

During the second operation last March, doctors probed deeper into Smith's hip in an attempt to extract the tumor completely and they inadvertently cut the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back to feet.

"We were devastated," said Morgan's mother, Lynn Smith. "We didn't even know that cutting the sciatic nerve was a possibility before the surgery. It was awful. We didn't know if Morgan would ever walk again at first. She couldn't move anything on the lower left side."

With complete numbness below the left knee, Smith spent the first two weeks after the surgery in a wheelchair. But then to the amazement of many, Smith showed up, limping slightly, for Walton's tryouts in July. She was given medical clearance because, though her condition could become more painful, she could not do any more damage.

"The doctors had told Morgan she might be out as long as two years but she's the type of girl, you can't tell her she can't do something," Lynn said. "If you say it's impossible, Morgan will prove you wrong. ... She's out there, playing with basically no cartilage ...  in her hip."

It hasn't been an easy ride for Smith, who will likely undergo more surgery within a few months to repair cartilage. Every Walton practice, she packs heat bags and ice packs on her hip. During games, the pain becomes so intense that Smith sometimes has to overcompensate by leaning to the right side.

"We have a lot of good players, but I don't think we'd be going to state without Morgan contributing," Walton outside hitter Kelly Murphy said. "Everybody knows Morgan is in pain, but I don't think they realize the extent of it because she doesn't go around talking about it."

There may be no crying in volleyball, but Smith admits she has shed plenty of tears while in her bedroom, far removed from the presence of teammates.

"No, I never cry during volleyball," she said. "I don't want to affect other people or cause any distractions."

Besides, she doesn't have time for the pain.