By Steve Carpenter
Hutchinson CC Sports Information Director

Friday, September 23, 2022 was not a red-letter day for then-Hutchinson Community College outside hitter Alejandra Briseno.

Just a few days before the Blue Dragon Volleyball Invitational on that September weekend, Briseno started having back issues. She gave it a go in practice the day before the tournament opener, but Briseno wasn't able to play. Adding to her misery was the fact that her father traveled all the way from Jalisco, Mexico, to see his daughter play. That didn't happen, either.

"It put me in a bad place," Briseno said.

Now a sophomore, the 5-foot-9 Blue Dragon outside hitter is healthy and her confidence is coming back as the 2023 season opens on Friday and Saturday with four matches at the McCook Community College Tournament in McCook, Nebraska.

"I've been working on my confidence," Briseno said. "I didn't get it back last season. During the spring, it kind of came back. I've been preparing myself mentally and physically, and I really hope I get it fully back by the end of the preseason."

Briseno's injury wasn't serious from a physical standpoint – a simple back strain – but it was painful. Before treatments began, Briseno said she couldn't bend down, wash her face or brush her teeth without tremendous amounts of pain.

Before the injury, the high-flying Briseno had become a go-to pin hitter in her first month as a Blue Dragon. Added to her arsenal was a powerful jump serve that opposing serve receives were starting to dread trying to pick up.

Over the first 22 matches of the 2022 season before the injury, Briseno was hitting .237 with 2.51 kills per set and 0.33 service aces per set. Her vertical jump was consistently at 9 feet, 7 inches.

After returning from injury, Briseno's numbers dropped to .202 hitting on 1.71 kills and 0.24 aces per set. She played in only 21 sets and eight matches after coming back. Briseno also struggled with her vertical jump, struggling to reach 9 feet, 3 inches.

"During that period where I was injured, the rest of the team stepped in for me. When I came back, I felt like I had to prove myself to every one to get my spot back and deserve to be here," Briseno said. "That was a lot of pressure, and I was mentally exhausted from that. I didn't come back as strong."

"Ale's confidence went from super high to super low so fast," Blue Dragon head coach Delice Downing said. "It's taken her a long time to get it back. Even in the spring, she was rehabbing and wasn't back to 100 percent."

With constant rehabbing last spring in Hutchinson and over the summer in Mexico, Briseno's sole goal was to be ready for the Blue Dragons' 2023 season. She played sparingly in a couple of tournaments over the summer, but preparing herself mentally and physically was priority No. 1.

"I'm really motivated," she said. "The last few weeks at home, all I could think about is getting back on the court and getting ready to meet my teammates. Last year, I thought we had a championship team, but at the end, we weren't that same team. That's what I want to change this season. We want it, so we have to work for it. I'm really excited to see that this team is going to do."

Now healthy, Downing is keeping a close eye on Briseno's back because she knows Briseno needs to be on the court.

"Ale's the voice of the team," Downing said. "She's going to run from one side of the court to the other side of the court and go for everything. Last year when she fell off, the whole team dropped. We lost the ball control. We lost the excitement and the energy. It's tough when a key player to isn't on the court."

As far as her devastating jump serve, Briseno said the discovery of that weapon happened by accident.

For fun, Briseno and her club teammates would jump serve, emulating the powerful serve widely used in the men's game. Two years ago, her coach started to notice just how good Briseno's jump serve actually was.

"I kept working on it, and I kept improving," she said. "Now, it's just part of my game."