ST. PAUL -- University of Northwestern volleyball setter Krista Stoltz (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) had quite the junior season. After winning Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) All-Conference First Team honors for the third year in a row, Stoltz led the Eagles to their third straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearance and was named an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Second Team All-American. Finishing with 1,327 assists – fourth best in team history – and averaging 11.54 assists per set – second among all Division III setters – Stoltz was also lauded for her diligence in the classroom as one of six players from the Midwest to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.

That's the part everyone knew about.

What most people didn't know was that Stoltz's banner year took place in the midst of excruciating pain due to a tumor the size of a 27-week fetus growing inside her uterus.
Rewind to late August 2012 when the Eagles were about to kick off their 40-match regular season. Stoltz, who had just endured a nearly two-week preseason that included two and three practices a day, started to become ill, gain weight and noticed a hard bump starting to appear along the lining of her stomach. Joined by her mother, Krista paid a visit to her OBGYN in mid-September and immediately the results weren't good. After learning that her hemoglobin level was at 7 g/dL, well below the normal female adult range of 12.0–16.0 g/dL, Krista's doctor nearly rushed her to the hospital to receive a blood transfusion, but further investigation was needed.

The answer to what was taking place inside Stoltz's body wasn't yet completely known but things were getting worse. "I slept with a heating pad every night otherwise there wouldn't be any sleep," said Stoltz. By that time, the mattress from her dorm room's top bunk had moved to the floor since she couldn't climb to its original position. Then came a match against Carleton College on a Wednesday night in the beginning of October, a contest that is very memorable to Krista and her teammates and coaches because of the level of pain she was experiencing.  "Our passers took it upon themselves to make sure Krista had to move as little as possible (in her setter position)," commented Eagles head coach Beth Wilmeth. Wilmeth's timeouts that night – and in matches throughout the rest of the season – were not necessarily when the team needed them most, but when Stoltz was most in need of a rest. Teammate Jacki Smith (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) would be waiting on the sideline to numb Krista's pain with Biofreeze.

"If I dove for a ball and landed on my stomach, it was terrible," she commented. "I couldn't stand up straight in the match against Carleton. Jump setting was out of the question and going up for a block just hurt too much."

Emily Robertson (Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian), Stoltz's teammate and roommate, said no one knew the level of pain she was experiencing. "On the court, you wanted to make your passes that much better so she wouldn't have to move," said Robertson. "You didn't want her to have to dive on defense."

Despite the pain, doctors and Northwestern trainers were still ok with an ailing Stoltz playing volleyball, as long as she was content in doing so herself. While she was ready to face the challenge in a worst-case scenario, Krista wasn't quite ready to hear the results of continuous tests. "I always waited until after matches to check messages from the oncologist so it didn't have any potential to ruin my mood," she said.

Familiarity began to take shape for Stoltz and her family when waiting for another call as the team headed to Morris, Minn. three days after the Carleton match. A tumor had been identified, but whether it was malignant or benign had yet to be determined. "If it's cancer, I'll start chemo on Monday," she told Wilmeth. Stoltz knew what she was talking about and what she might have had to endure. Cancer wasn't anything new to the Stoltz family as Krista's older sister Heidi had just finished her own successful bout with chemotherapy after battling cancer. While none of the doctors' calls to Krista yielded positive results, that day's message revealed that she didn't have cancer.

Northwestern lost to Morris that Friday, but won its next 10 matches to claim the UMAC regular season championship and earn the top seed in the league's postseason tournament. The Eagles went on to win that tournament and advance farther into the NCAA postseason than any other Northwestern team had in program history.

Surgery came for Stoltz on December 12 when doctors removed a fibroid that had split into the size of two large grapefruits side by side inside her uterine wall that they believed had started to develop over the last year. Fibroids take shape when a single cell divides repeatedly, eventually creating a firm, rubbery mass distinct from nearby tissue.

Nursing a seven inch scar from her procedure that was very similar to a C-section delivery, Stoltz laid in a hospital bed for four days and wasn't able to walk for a week.

According to the Mayo Clinic, as many as three out of four women have uterine fibroids sometime during their lives and are typically found in their middle or later reproductive years. Most fibroids don't cause side effects, but that obviously was not the story for Stoltz, who isn't completely in the clear yet. While tests confirm that Krista is still able to give birth, doctors have warned her that fibroids could very well return.

Fast forward to this week when Northwestern begins UMAC play against the College of St. Scholastica, Northland College and North Central University. While the Eagles are still recovering from early-season injuries with a 4-9 overall record, Stoltz is at the top of her game, without a tumor, having been voted the conference setter of the week in each of the first three weeks of the season. She currently ranks second in Division III career assists per set among active players.

In addition to her ability to play volleyball, Stoltz's outlook on life is much brighter too. "This year, I can play at my fullest potential without having to ask for help," Krista said. She continued, "I am mentally tougher having played through that experience and I've learned to really trust in the Lord."

That mental toughness will be key for the senior captain, who hopes to lead her team to a 16th conference championship and yet another NCAA Tournament berth, an accomplishment Stoltz wouldn't want to be kept under wraps come November. Northwestern's UMAC journey begins on Friday night at home against St. Scholastica.