BLOOMING PRAIRIE — Sometimes the worst circumstances bring out the best in people.

A Blooming Prairie senior has put in endless hours of rehabilitation to play a small part for the Awesome Blossoms’ volleyball team this Fall.

Marie Morem, a senior hitter who has 721 career kills in three years of playing varsity volleyball, came back from an injury Sept. 12 to enter the Blossoms’ lineup as a serving specialist.

She simply serves, plays a little back row defense, and heads back to the bench when her rotation is up.

The feat doesn’t sound that great until you realize Marie blew out her ACL and MCL last April and just had her surgery in May. While the minimum recovery time for such an injury is six months, and many athletes take longer to bounce back, she came back to the Blossoms’ lineup after just five months of rehab.

“I was begging my doctor to do something. I negotiated with him to make a deal that if I just served and got out as soon as the next rotation started, that would be good enough for me,” Marie said.

Marie’s doctor responded with a note of approval, but he also said that her movement must be limited to the back row.

So every time Marie’s younger sister Janelle Morem steps up to serve in the rotation, Marie steps in and takes over. She’s had several ace serves in her limited time so far.

“She’s a better server then me, so I gave up my spot right away,” Janelle, a freshman, said. “I didn’t think she’d be able to do anything this season, but if she serves, it’s something. (I like to have her serve at me in practice) because she serves hard and it gives me a good warm-up.”

Marie’s recovery began in May, when she worked on her knee daily. She gradually went to rehab less and less as she got better and better. The process was tough, but not as hard as she expected.

“It wasn’t as tough as people said it was going to be,” Marie said. “Everyone heals differently, but people said it was the most grueling and painful process of their life. I had a real good therapist and she worked real well with me.”

Marie’s mobility came back to her earlier than excepted and it wasn’t long before she was looking to get on the court. Now that she’s back, she’s hoping to be in a full role as early as the first round of the playoffs (which begin in about a month) — pending a doctor’s approval. She should be fully recovered for winter sports where she plans to play on the BP basketball team and a JO volleyball team called the Minnesota Elite.

“She’s extremely anxious to get back to the front row, but we are going to be very careful and prudent about her return,” BP head coach Gina McLaughlin said. “I would love to see Marie play in the capacity that she desires, but realize that pushing it is not responsible. She’s recovering faster than I could have hoped and I’m so very proud of her efforts.”

For Marie, the worst part is over.

“When I heard I couldn’t play this year I was really, really upset. It’s hard, but you get over it. You have to,” she said.

Now that she’s been back in the lineup, she’s been able to have some quality time with Janelle, who helped out with some of the rehab.

“We pick on each other and it’s fun. We’ve become really good friends this year because we’re on the same team,” Marie said.

Meanwhile, Janelle has gained some perspective on how quickly a major injury can hit an athlete.

“It showed how much she played, it really wears down on your body,” she said.

Marie, who played varsity as a freshman, had 290 kills last season with an attacking rate of 45 percent. She also had 168 digs, 58 solo blocks, and 25 ace blocks.

BP is off to a 5-9 start this year and they will play at Randolph Thursday at 7:30 p.m.