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 heart failure is a long-term condition that happens when the heart cannot pump blood well enough to give the body a normal supply. While medications and other treatments help manage symptoms, the diagnosis is life-limiting for many. Lynn Jesewitz became one of the more than 6 million people in the United States living with and managing the condition.

Jesewitz, however, has pulled her mom's strength and heart into how she approaches each and every day.

"Regardless of her illness, she continues to be the selfless, loving, empathetic woman she has always been," Jesewitz noted. "Even when she's had the opportunity to prioritize her health, she has always chosen to put other people first. She's just a symbol of selflessness that I've never seen before. I can look at every person or everything in my life and I can't get over how selfless my mom is. I always go back to that. That's just who she is as a person.

"I want to be the best that I can be, the best version of myself," she explained. "I've taken over more of my mom says – 'take life by the horns'. And I've tried to do that  this last year, just getting everything out of it as I can. If you take the most out of what you can control, life is so much better. So that's what my goal is. It's just to be the best I can in the classroom, on the court or in life."

At Rutgers, she found a home that nurtures her heart both on and off the court.

On the court as a freshman, Jesewitz has been a mainstay of the starting rotation, ranking second on the Scarlet Knights with 2.01 kills per set to go along with 26 blocks. Most recently, she is coming off a season-high nine dig night against Indiana. 
Off the court, she is immersing herself in her psychology major with the goal of one day walking in her mother's footsteps as a psychologist and continuing the selfless lessons she has learned along the way in helping others.

Her team has also found a way to help to be selfless, joining Jesewitz with a cause near and dear to her heart with a Heart Health Awareness Game on Friday, Nov. 8 against Michigan State at 7 p.m. at Jersey Mike's Arena. For the game against the Spartans, the Scarlet Knights will be bringing awareness to understanding risk factors, making healthy choices and ways to protect your heart in honor of Jesewitz and her mom.

"I think the thing that's been the hardest about it is that it's been kind of a struggle in silence at times, and not for any reason other than just that our life didn't stop," explained Jesewitz. "My mom and my family, we've managed through it, and at times, we have had to watch her struggle. For me, to come into a place that's all new and make an adjustment to be away from my mom and miss home, to have them recognize such a big thing right off the bat, was special to me. That helped make me feel at home right away. And I think another part of it, too, is that I'm glad that we get an opportunity, no matter how small it is, to spread awareness."

On Friday, when Jesewitz and the Scarlet Knights step on the court for the Heart Health Awareness game, she's hoping mom knows that one day she is going to look back on this and is going to know why they did this.

"You know, she's my mom, she would do anything for me," Jesewitz beamed. "She has been going through the hardest thing she's ever gone through, and it's been really scary for her, yet she still manages to make everything about those around her." 

While Jesewitz and the Scarlet Knights take the court each time with heart, Friday will be even more heartfelt in playing for mom.
 
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