Jordyn Waite-Ward’s powerful right arm is the main reason Sonoma State University women’s volleyball coach Edward “Bear” Grassl simply had to have her in his program.

To get there, though, the Aptos High graduate had to overcome a career-threatening injury to her left leg.

Waite-Ward tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left leg during her junior year at Aptos. According to a study published by the National Library of Medicine, female athletes tear their ACLs “at an alarmingly higher rate” than male athletes do.Still, Waite-Ward refused to let the injury derail her collegiate aspirations — at least not permanently.

“I was so determined to get to the college level, I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from getting there,” Waite-Ward said. “I was motivated. Having a goal helped me get through the entire process.”

Waite-Ward’s stats from her senior year at Aptos show just how motivated she was: The 6-foot-2 middle blocker led the Mariners in total kills (90), kill percentage (47.9 percent) and hitting percentage (.379) in 36 sets played after returning to the court, according to MaxPreps.com.

Now a redshirt freshman at Sonoma State, Waite-Ward credits an intensive physical therapy regimen for helping get her college career back on track. Because her sport requires a significant vertical leap, her physical therapy was targeted, focusing heavily on box jumps.

“They (the boxes) started out really low, and I worked my way up — a little higher, a little higher, a little higher,” Waite-Ward said. “That really boosted my confidence.”

After redshirting last fall, Waite-Ward has duplicated the success she had at Aptos at Sonoma State, an NCAA Division II school: At the end of the California Collegiate Athletic Association’s regular season, which concluded on Nov. 16, Waite-Ward ranked third on the Seawolves in both hitting percentage (.271) and total kills (173).

Grassl knew of the devastating injury that robbed Waite-Ward of most of her junior season in high school. Although Waite-Ward was an All-Central Coast Section second team honoree at Aptos. many college recruiters likely steered clear of her because of her past injury.

Not Grassl. The Sonoma State coach simply couldn’t pass up a player with an arm like Waite-Ward’s.

“We get a lot of tall kids — they’re not hard to find,” Grassl said. “It’s hard to find someone with arm speed.

“Her arm speed isn’t just her most valuable asset. It’s a commodity.”

Grassl couldn’t estimate how hard Waite-Ward can spike the ball toward the court in terms of miles per hour. However, he was able to explain what makes his protégé’s swing so powerful.

“She has a lot of range of motion, and she’s able to keep her shoulder real relaxed,” Grassl said. “In baseball, pitchers don’t throw fast because they’re strong. They throw fast because they’re able to keep their arms relaxed while throwing from their torso.”

Waite-Ward credited her abilities to strength and conditioning — not only with Aptos, but the club volleyball teams she played for. Still, she couldn’t explain everything that goes into launching herself upward and bringing the hammer down in preparation for a kill.

“I’ve been doing it for so long, I don’t even realize what specific features I’m doing,” she said. “I just have trust within myself. I just know what I need to do, hone in and deliver it.”

Waite-Ward is no slouch on defense, either: She ranked second on Sonoma State in blocks with 67.

Waite-Ward’s experiences with physical therapy are why she’s majoring in kinesiology. She’s considering becoming a physical therapist herself someday.

For now, though, she’s got three seasons of college volleyball remaining — and Grassl expects Waite-Ward to develop into a dominant player in the middle of his front row.