How Wisconsin volleyball’s Sarah Franklin has thrived after career-threatening

MADISON, Wis. — On a Monday afternoon in late May, Sarah Franklin asked her 14 Wisconsin volleyball teammates to meet in her apartment. She had news she wanted to deliver in person, and this couldn’t wait.

Franklin, one of the best outside hitters in the country, informed them of the results from a CT scan that morning at the hospital. What she knew was that she would not be joining the Badgers on their preseason European exhibition tour later that week. The scan found three small blood clots in her right forearm stemming from a larger blood clot somewhere else in her body, which required surgery. That helped to explain why her hand was white, cold and clammy during practices and why every slam of the ball caused pain.

What she didn’t know was whether she would ever be able to play competitive volleyball again. As the words left her mouth, tears filled the room during a moment that players say was both heartbreaking and heartwarming.

“To know that this health scare is coming up and it could potentially completely end her career, you’re almost sick for it,” Badgers setter MJ Hammill said. “We didn’t really want to share how scared we were or how absolutely gutted we were. It was just like, ‘You’re going to be OK. You’re going to get through this and we’re going to surround you with everything we have.’”

Franklin’s journey through this season has been far from typical. But, despite serious snags along the way, she has persevered with a cheerful, confident outlook that has manifested itself on the court. Six and a half months after her initial scan, Franklin is thriving and is one of the biggest reasons No. 1 seed Wisconsin (30-3) has reached the Final Four against No. 2 seed Texas (26-4). The match will be played Thursday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., with the winner playing either No. 1 seed Nebraska or No. 1 seed Pitt for the national championship on Sunday afternoon.

Franklin, a 6-foot-4 senior from Lake Worth, Fla., who is known as “Frank the Tank,” is coming off a two-week stretch in which she was named the Big Ten player of the year and the MVP of her region in the NCAA Tournament. She also is a candidate for the American Volleyball Coaches Association national player of the year honor, which will be awarded Friday. She is in the midst of the best season of her career, including single-season highs in kills (473), kills per set (4.19) and hitting percentage (.305).

“She’s sort of like our motor,” Badgers middle blocker Carter Booth said. “She helps to make our system lethal, and that’s something that’s irreplaceable.”

But before any of those accomplishments were possible, Franklin first needed to address the circulatory issue that threatened her career. After consulting with doctors, she learned there were two potential causes: thoracic outlet syndrome or the much rarer quadrilateral space syndrome. Thoracic outlet syndrome,…