Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – Libero Karly Edgar was having a huge 2016-17 season for the Griffins women's volleyball team, racking up 152 digs in the team's first 13 matches.

Her rate of 3.80 digs per set, if maintained, would have been second-best in Canada West's final statistics.

But volleyball stats and successes quickly went by the wayside when she landed in the hospital last January fighting for her life after her appendix burst.

"When it happened, I didn't really realize the extent of it," said the Sherwood Park product, who was in the Grey Nun's Hospital for a week and subsequently missed the rest of the season in recovery. "I think once I was back home and once I was telling people, people were just so shocked.

"(The medical team) said because I was young and athletic and fit, that really helped contain it. It didn't get in my blood or anything, so it was lucky that I'm in the physical shape that I'm in."

A perforation of an appendix, which spills infectious materials into a person's abdominal cavity, can be fatal if not treated properly.

"The reaction was nobody could believe it because the story we knew was if your appendix ruptures you could die. That's what we've all been told," said MacEwan head coach Ken Briggs.

"There was just disbelief – 'come on, it's got to be something else. She could have died.' "

Suffice to say, Edgar is feeling fortunate and grateful to be back in fine health. After a strong off-season of workouts, she returned to the Griffins lineup last weekend at Thompson Rivers University for her first action since being hospitalized.

"Sometimes I kind of forget, especially last weekend," she related. "I was super bummed (after losing both matches). But, in the end … I'm not saying it's just volleyball, but I have the opportunity to play again. Sometimes I just need to be thankful that I'm able to play and be here."

Griffins fans can catch Edgar's first game in the Atkinson Gym since her health scare when MacEwan hosts Alberta in its home opener this Saturday (5 p.m.). She is one of four Griffins players entering their final seasons of university eligibility.

From the moment she got out of the hospital, Edgar found herself at a crossroads. She knew the uphill battle it would take to return to the court.

"It was really frustrating at the start just because I couldn't do what I could do before," said Edgar, noting she lost all her strength and a lot of weight. "I could either accept that or … get back to where I was. Especially going into my last year, I was like 'I'm not going to just let this ruin my year.' "

So, she sat down with MacEwan strength coach Jeremy Potter, who came up with an off-season training plan.

"I worked really hard this summer," she said. "Jeremy made the program and he knew what had happened. He knew what state I was in and he was a lot of help. He knew how hard I was working.

"I came back and I was lifting more than I was before I was sick, so that was really nice."

In many ways, Edgar led the way for all of MacEwan's veterans, most of whom returned to the court in the best shape of their lives this season.

"It might have sort of motivated her to not just get back where she was, but to push on," said Briggs. "It's a credit to this whole group of (seniors). They decided we're not coasting into our fifth years. They're all the best they've ever been. Karly quietly led that way because she came from so far back."

Cassidy Kinsella, Kate Rozendaal and Claire McLoughlin are also entering their final seasons of eligibility. Goals are grand, especially after the Griffins returned all starters from a year ago.

"I think playoffs is a very obvious goal for us, but I feel like that should be already met, especially when we have so many older girls," said Edgar. "We all are so focused on doing the best we can and being the best we can be. We just kind of want to go out with a bang.

"Compared to previous seasons, this is definitely the best group we have. We've all been playing together for so long. We only have two new players and they fit in so well. It just feels really good, the atmosphere that's here."