YORKTOWN, IND- The gym at Yorktown tonight was a packed house. Not just for the five-time state champion volleyball program, nor the 10-1 team that ran out onto the floor, but the senior Indiana University commit Charlotte Vinson.
Vinson – who was dubbed a first-team All-American by MaxPreps as a junior – made her 2024 home debut tonight. In June of this year, Vinson came down with strep throat. A common bacterial sickness that many people tend to suffer from, but for Vinson, this sickness was anything but common.
After months of physical therapy and rehabbing, Charlotte was cleared by her cardiologist to return to action under limited action.
“She did a lot of PT sessions,” Charlotte’s dad, Phil Vinson said. “It was a lot of her getting her body stronger and stuff like that. She still isn’t able to do any cardio stuff right now but she got released to do hitting drills and stuff like that. That carried over into just recently when she got the okay from the cardiologist to start playing in limited capacities.”
The last three months have been a whirlwind for the Vinson family. From going into Ball Memorial Hospital to being airlifted to Riley Children’s Hospital, the Vinsons are ecstatic that Charlotte can be back on the floor with her team.
“It’s just unbelievable that she is able to do this so fast after being in Riley,” Phil said. “It was overwhelming for us but it’s so great to see now, all that hard work is paying off.”
Spending the summer in the hospital bed when she should be playing volleyball, Charlotte faced a multitude of challenges. Not being able to compete on the summer circuit and sitting out from school workouts is a mental challenge for a high-level athlete. But she never allowed anything to stop her on her road to recovery.
“That’s Charlotte for you,” Phil said. “She’s a big competitor, she was itching and scratching to get back on the volleyball court as soon as she could. That’s just her character and personality. She was a determined person who wanted to prove everybody wrong.”
Not only is Charlotte excited to be back playing the game she loves, but her teammates feel the same kind of excitement. Fellow senior Addi Applegate – a Texas A&M commit – was happy to hear Charlotte was cleared to return to the floor again.
“It’s super exciting to see her back out on the court,” she said. “I told her today, ‘You’re back like you never left’ and I’m just super proud of the work she puts in at practice and how she gets after it.”
Having her back in the lineup is important not only for her skill but having another senior leader like Charlotte is bringing up the team as a whole.
“I think, personally, she brings me a lot of confidence,” Applegate said. “She talks to me a lot during the huddles and I think she calms down all the other players on the court. She’s a huge piece of the team and helps us align.”
Yorktown head coach Stephanie Bloom is also thankful to have Vinson back in her lineup. She thinks her team has a different vibe and more energy when their senior leader is back on the floor leading the charge.
“One thing I say often is the difference between good and great teams is that good teams wait for coaches to lead and take over, great teams have players that do it,” she said. “I think [Charlotte] is a natural leader in that sense. Just having her presence and her voice on the floor is really crucial.
Although Vinson’s return was a focal point of the night, the entire Yorktown roster made an impact in tonight's victory over the Arabians. Bloom was happy with their full team effort and willingness to compete.
“I think we’re trying to focus on distributing the ball,” she said. “Let’s make everybody defend everyone, that’s what can make us a hard team to defend. Not knowing where we’re going and having to defend all of us. It can be easy for us to say ‘Oh, Charlotte is back, let’s just go to her’ but the thing that has been good for us has been the time when we weren’t relying on her.”
Not having Vinson back for the start of the season was going to be a challenge. However, Bloom is happy with how her underclassmen stepped up while she was gone.
“We had some young kids develop and emerge and are super capable,” she said. “It’s been good for all of our competence to see that we can score and have kids that are talented.”
The Tigers got the sweep tonight, improving their season record to 11-1, improving to 3-0 Hoosier Heritage Conference. Charlotte was still limited tonight, showcasing how well-rounded the Tigers are.
“I think it showed everyone that we have girls that are really good,” Vinson said. “It sets us apart from other teams because so many teams have one player that collects all the stats and everyone on our team can do it. We have good hitters and a lot of good defensive girls too. We can spread the ball out and I think that’s what makes us different and surprises teams sometimes.”
Although Charlotte is still recovering, she and her family are optimistic for her full return to the court and eventually making it to campus in Bloomington.
“So this summer she will be with Munciana again this club season,” Mr. Vinson said. “Her plan as of now is to get down to IU on time and be playing volleyball next season with whatever role on the team.”
Contact Logan Connor via email at Logan.connor@bsu.edu or via X at @_loganconnor.
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