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Everything happens for a reason, the saying goes.

But that reason being anything positive seemed an unlikely possibility when Skyline volleyball player Annie Peterson last year went pursuing a ball out-of-bounds and crashed her head into the Timpanogos High bleachers.

It seemed even less likely when Peterson was unable to return for another Skyline match.

The Eagles will be among the favorites when the Class 4A state tournament starts Friday at Utah Valley University. But Peterson won't be participating. That game on Sept. 9, 2014 would be the last time her name would be in the scorebook, as she wasn't even able to practice again.

"She just seemed out of it," Skyline coach Jami Hutchins said.

Insisting that their daughter's condition went way beyond the symptoms of a concussion, parents Kathy and Stu Peterson in January finally got an MRI for Annie.

What the enhanced magnetic imaging test revealed was a cerebral chiari — a congenital defect where the brain and the spinal cord connect in ways they're not supposed to. After months of headaches in the fall, Annie Peterson went into surgery to keep her brain from, as she puts it, "falling" into her spinal cord.

"They actually cauterized it to make it into a normal shape," says Peterson, with a laugh that belies the serious nature of the procedure. "They cleared the extra brain out of the way."

For Peterson's mom and dad, as well as her coach, the dive for the ball and subsequent collision is now looked upon as a godsend. It happened for a reason, after all. Without that, the diagnosis of the cerebral chiari could well have taken much longer — and the repercussions potentially wold have much more dangerous.

"It was very, very fortunate," Kathy Peterson said. "It would have been later and it would have been a much different outcome for her."

"The whole thing was a blessing in disguise," Hutchins said. "Who knows what would have happened. She might have been dead in a year."

After what was first thought to be merely a second concussion (she had one in the summer before her junior season), the 6-foot middle and right-side hitter was plagued with pain.

"The doctors thought it was anxiety-related. We tried different narcotics to deal with it," Peterson recalled. "I had severe headaches, it was hard to hear, I was struggling to speak at times. It was pretty close to hell for me, personally.

"I wasn't healing from it. It was just sticking with me," she added. "In my classes, I was really struggling and under-performing."

And that was unusual for Peterson, who was close to a 4.0 grade point average before the crash in the stands. Right now, Peterson is carrying six classes in an effort to catch up academically because of the time she missed — and just to graduate.

She admits though that the classes are "easy" by her former standards.

Peterson's grandfather, Chase Peterson, who passed away only five days after Annie's injury, was the University of Utah president from 1983 to 1991.

"She would like to go to the University of Utah medical school," Kathy Peterson said. "What she has to explain now is this time after she was an honor student."

Peterson's ambitions, however, now include helping other teens who have suffered a similar experience. She has started a support group (Head Strong TBI) for those young people who have had traumatic brain injury.

"Right now, it's a small group but I feel like its doing some good," Annie Peterson said of the monthly meetings. "If there's any way I can be helpful and give some direction — and it's just a lot of fun."

It helps make up for the fact that she's not playing volleyball anymore, which has been a difficult adjustment.

"I want to be there, but it's hard knowing that I can't do as much as I want," she said. "The brain heals slowly. I'll know where I'm going to be for the rest of my life in about a year."

Still, the senior will be a spectator when her Eagles teammates pursue a Class 4A state championship this weekend.

And Skyline certainly has a chance.

The Eagles and fellow region winner Springville are very similar in being able to attack from all points across the net. Defending champion Timpview has also rounded back into form after graduation losses and a rough start, and Bountiful, led by BYU signee Kennedy Redding, should also be counted as a contender for 4A top honors.

Class 5A

The biggest classification for Utah high school volleyball starts its state playoffs Thursday, with three-time defending champ Pleasant Grove still the team to beat.

While the Vikings may have showed some cracks in the armor earlier, with a tournament loss to Northridge and one defeat in region to American Fork, PG has apparently recovered from injuries to outside hitter Bailey Nixon and setter Jeni Biggs. Now it's the tall middle hitters (6-6 Sara Hamson and 6-5 Malli Valgardson) that have propelled the Vikings to another region title.

Look for Region 4 rival Lehi, which pushed the Vikes to five in the regular-season finale, and Northridge as contenders to unseat the champs. From Region 3, champ Brighton and runner-up Bingham are also strong, but Bingham will have a big test right away from Lone Peak in an opening-round match at 3 p.m. in Orem. —

Volleyball schedules

At UCCU Center, Orem

Class 5A

Thursday

First round

• Bingham vs. Lone Peak, 3 p.m.

• Northridge vs. Syracuse, 3 p.m.

• Davis vs. Weber, 3 p.m.

• Lehi vs. Jordan, 3 p.m.

• Viewmont vs. Sky View, 4:30 p.m.

• Pleasant Grove vs. West Jordan, 4:30 p.m.

• Brighton vs. Riverton, 4:30 p.m.

• Fremont vs. Layton, 4:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals

• 3 p.m. winners play at 6 p.m.

• 4:30 p.m. winners play at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday

• Semifinals at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m.

• Championship at 5:30 p.m.

Class 4A

Friday

First round

• Alta vs. Hillcrest, 9 a.m.

• Springville vs. Woods Cross, 9 a.m.

• Bountiful vs. Maple Mountain, 9 a.m.

• Murray vs. Mountain View, 9 a.m.

• Box Elder vs. Spanish Fork, 10:30 a.m.

• Skyline vs. Corner Canyon, 10:30 a.m.

• Timpview vs. Olympus, 10:30 a.m.

• Salem Hills vs. Bonneville, 10:30 a.m.

Quarterfinals

• 9 a.m. winners play at noon

• 10:30 a.m. winners play at 1:30 p.m.

Saturday

• Semifinals at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m.

• Championship at 8 p.m.