IT’S ABOUT HEART: Avery Jesewitz

When Avery Jesewitz, outside hitter with the Rutgers volleyball team, steps on the court, it’s all about heart in more ways than one.

However, Jesewitz’s heart wasn’t always in the game.

Her older sister, Sophie, was playing and Jesewitz’s mom, Lynne, thought it would be something 10-year old Jesewitz would be interested in with her sibling.

“I was so mad,” laughed Jesewitz reflecting on the start of her volleyball career. “I was so mad. I cried. I can’t even tell you how long I cried for.  I always played soccer and thought I would be a professional soccer player. I was always nervous about trying new things and thought it would be a waste of my time.”

Jesewitz quickly changed her mind.

“Once I went, I fell in love,” she smiled.

The little girl who didn’t want to step on the court is now starting for the Rutgers volleyball team in the premier conference in the country. It was the proverbial “mom knows best” moment.

“If I could go back, I would tell my mom ‘you know, you’re always right,” Jesewitz said. “My mom would always say ‘one day you are going to look back on this and you are going to know why I did this or understand why I made you do this.'”

Before arriving “On The Banks”, Jesewitz’s love of the game led her to be named a JVA All-American, playing to a third-place finish at USA Girl’s Junior Nationals, a three-time Class 4A MSHSL State Campion, one of the top 150 players in the country according to Prepvolleyball.com and top 100 players according to Prepdig.com. 

But before stepping on the court for the Scarlet Knights, Jesewitz and her family’s hearts were pulled apart.

Jesewitz’s mom’s battle with the flu turned into something much worse.

“We didn’t think much of it, but then it just didn’t start feeling right,” Jesewitz remembered. 

A weird cough was diagnosed as bronchitis, but mom continued to be ill.

Jesewitz, who had always watched her mom be a ball of energy, suddenly saw her mom walking up a flight of stairs, losing her breath, being unable to lift items as much as she had used to and zoning out during conversations. 

“She wasn’t acting like herself,” she said, looking back. “I don’t remember exactly how we ended up coming up with the idea that it could be her heart, but eventually, she got hooked up with a good cardiologist and we found out that she has congestive heart failure.”

 

Congestive…