(Video by Kane Manfull and Owen Gonzalez. Story by Kane Manfull)
APRIL 18, 2024
Thunderstorm clouds rolled across the sky, tornado sirens droned on for what felt like an eternity, and the cries of an ambulance could be heard blocks away. While the chaos ensued beyond the walls, the Francis Howell North gym stood in absolute stillness.
Every pair of eyes was fixed on the center court. Freshman Noah Rowland was curled up on the black and gold shield logo that patterned the gym floor.
He cried out in pain.
“It felt like the air got sucked out of the gym,” Noah’s teammate Danny Shi said. “Nobody moved because we didn’t know what to do.”
Nobody moved in that moment, but just minutes before, Noah was the same 6’1” all-around outside hitter he had been all year. Whether he was in serve receive, racking up his block totals, or hitting with tremendous power, Noah was a force to be reckoned with.
“He was unstoppable,” Noah’s coach Mayghen Mugele said.
While most injuries are tended to quickly and students get the help they need almost instantly, it would be another hour and a half before Noah could get any relief for his.
DECEMBER 2022
Noah’s love for the game stemmed from one day during winter break, when two of Noah’s friends, Jobanjit Dayal and Shi, were on their way to the Saint Peters Rec-Plex. The three had been close since a young age, but not remotely as close as they would become over the next few months. This was the first time Noah had touched a volleyball.
“Joban’s dad drove us there,” Noah said. “I was terrible and the older guys destroyed everything that I did. But it was just nice to be there laughing with my friends.”
However, progress doesn’t happen overnight. Each Sunday afternoon the three went to play and their skills improved each time. These simple Sunday hangouts turned into something greater. In a matter of months, the three set foot in the Francis Howell North gym with aspirations of making the volleyball team. Noah started as the junior varsity outside hitter just one year after his first day at the Rec-Plex.
“He is definitely one of the most athletic kids I have ever coached,” Mugele said.
APRIL 18, 2024
Noah navigated his freshman season with confidence as he led the team in both kills and blocks midway through the season. On April 18, 2024, the Knights hosted the Francis Howell Central Spartans for what was set to be a classic district rivalry. Looking for redemption from an earlier loss to Central in the season, Noah was ready to win.
“I was warming up and felt fine, like 100%. I was feeling really really good that day,” Noah said.
Any coach will tell you that volleyball is a game of mistakes. The game is lost by who has more hits into the net, serves that sail out of bounds, or passes that fly into the crowd. However, some mistakes outweigh others. Some mistakes result in impacts worse than a change on the scoreboard.
“I got set a really tight ball,” Noah said. “I went for it and landed on the other side of the net. I came down on a guy’s foot and my knee turned completely inwards.”
Noah went down and stayed down.
He had dislocated his left knee.
The pain was too unbearable to realign the knee on site, so trainers elevated the knee and awaited the arrival of an ambulance. Due to storms in the area, this ambulance would take over half an hour to reach the school. In the meantime, tornado sirens began to sound, and the gym was evacuated. Noah layed there in the empty gym until the ambulance arrived. Noah was placed on a stretcher and injected with morphine for his 45-minute ride to the hospital.
Unbeknownst to Noah, this estimated 9-12 week recovery would be only the beginning of his nearly year-long injury battle.
“I didn’t find out until my follow-up visit with the doctor,” Noah said. “I was very disappointed. But also it made me strive to recover more because I knew that once I was fully recovered, I would have the most fun playing volleyball.”
Noah attended physical therapy twice a week, starting just days after he received the news of his extensive recovery. Noah did not miss a single physical therapy session in hopes that he could return to full health before the fall club volleyball season. In the final weeks of Noah’s recovery, his doctors cleared him to play cautiously. Noah went to a MOVA Volleyball Club open gym, eager to get swinging again. Wearing nothing but a light knee sleeve, Noah took the court.
Early the first night back, Noah went down.
“I dislocated it again,” Noah said. “And this time it was a lot worse.”
Noah went back into physical therapy, working with a greater motivation as his sophomore high school season was approaching quickly. During the final weeks of his second dislocation’s recovery, doctors suggested that they conduct an MRI on Noah to ensure there were no underlying injuries now that the knee was nearly healed. When the results came back, Noah was distraught.
“I had torn my LCL back in April but didn’t know it,” Noah said. “I went through three full recoveries for a single knee dislocation. We should have done the MRI the day that I got injured.”
DECEMBER 2024
This constant series of injuries for Noah concluded nearly eight months after the injury, when his doctors fully cleared him to play. He wears a brace on his knee while playing for added support and performs an in-depth stretching routine before every practice and game. Noah began relearning his skills and stamina in the three months he had to prepare for the season.
“I’m so glad he’s back,” Mugele said. “He is doing so well and he is so determined. In his recovery process, I know he has been doing everything that he can to get back, and that just says a lot about his character.”
Noah currently is among the top blockers in the state and has over 170 kills in only his sophomore season. To Rowland, the stats are just numbers. The game of volleyball means so much more than that.
“What keeps me coming back every day is my teammates and my coaches,” Noah said. “They are definitely my best friends.”
This story was originally published on FHNtoday.com on May 16, 2025.