Nebraska volleyball middle blocker Lauren Stivrins took the court after sitting out the first 11 games due to a back injury.

Stivrins, a three-time All-American, battled her way back from a back injury that she struggled with for the last part of the Huskers' 2020 season. She has had months of rehab after surgery.

On Wednesday, she opened up about her journey back to volleyball:

*** Stivrins said the hardest part about her comeback was that she lost 20 pounds after surgery. She said Nuwanee Kirihennedige, a Performance Nutrition Coordinator at Nebraska, told her she lost 11 pounds of muscle.

Stivrins said she has been working hard every day to regain her muscle and get used to her body again.

"I don't quite jump as high as I used to so sometimes I get blocked or don't finish a block more frequently than I'm used to but figuring it out day by day," she said.

*** Head coach John Cook said Stivrins is training like a professional now because she is training and working out for hours a day to get back to fully healthy and continue to improve.

"She's in Pro mode right now. She has a pretty limited school schedule so this is like a pro experience for her," he said. "She's focused on volleyball, rehab, lift, come to practice, recover next day. That's what Jordan Larson has been doing for 15 years all over the world for six to seven days a week."

*** Stivrins decided to come back to Nebraska for one more season and take advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to COVID-19.

She said it was a really hard decision and something she struggled with for a long time. Stivrins said she woke up every day with a different decision.

But the thing that pushed her to stay was her teammates.

"To see the way that the team stepped up in every way, it was incredible," Stivrins said. "I honestly could not wait to be back after seeing everyone step up and the high level that these girls compete with every single day. It's something special. And I'm so glad that I stayed."

*** She said if she hadn't been injured at the end of last season and was able to play against Baylor and at full capacity against Texas, she probably would have moved on from Nebraska.

*** Cook said he was ready to "shut her down" for the entire NCAA tournament but he said Stivrins convinced him not to. He said she wanted to play knowing her doctors said she couldn't do any more damage. Her playing just depended on how much pain she could handle.

'*** Cook said he was never worried that Stivrins wouldn't return to volleyball.

"She loves volleyball," he said.

Cook said Stivrins has gotten several invitations to play on the National Team however, it never worked out because of other conflicts.

"I think that's her dream," he said.

*** Stivrins was voted one of Nebraska's three team captains this season. She said she was surprised because she told the team not to vote for her because she didn't know how much she would be playing and wanted to give someone else a chance to lead.

"It just shows how much faith they have in me," she said. "It's something I'm very very proud of. So for them to see that and still... it makes me happy."

*** Defensive specialist Kenzie Knuckles is another one of the captains with Stivrins and setter Nicklin Hames, a three-time captain.

Knuckles transitioned from Nebraska's libero to its defensive specialist during the off-season.

"She's one of many who has completely stepped up and changed who they are for the better of the team so that alone is enough to make me want to choke up a bit," Stivrins said.

*** Stivrins said she learned a lot from watching from the sideline for Nebraska's first 11 games of the season.

"It was great for me to sit back and watch what happens and what works and what doesn't and to let this team kind of figure it out without me," she said. "I think that was huge in their growth."

She also said she saw some players emerge as leaders who weren't before in her absence for the court.

*** Once she was finally back in the starting lineup, Stivrins had one of her top three favorite moments in the Devaney Sports Center when the crowd erupted when her name was called.

The other two moments were winning the Big Ten in 2017 and being able to watch her sister, Amber Stivrins, play in Devaney when Arizona State was in Lincoln for the Ameritas Players Challenge.

"My sister being announced and how cool that was," Stivrins said. "It was my first time ever getting to see her play live in college so that was really special and it was in the place that I love most. It was really cool to see and then to hear everyone cheer for her, it just made my heart melt."

*** Coming back for another season wasn't just about what was best for her, Stivrins said. She said she wants to help this team play to the level they are capable of and have the confidence to do so.

Outside of that, "I don't have anything to prove," she said.

"I came here and did everything that I wanted to do. But I'm just here to make sure that this program gets back on track before I leave. Because I felt like when I came in, we were at a certain level and competing every single year in Final Fours and stuff. And we haven't been doing that in the past few years."