The Southwestern College women’s volleyball team made it to the quarterfinals of its conference tournament this year and a staple on the sidelines during that run was assistant coach Bree Wallace.

The team’s head coach, Maggie Hans, calls Wallace “my right hand man. She’s my number one kid and she’s the biggest fighter that I’ve ever met in my life.”

Hans and Wallace have been in charge of the team for the last two years, but their bond is older than that. “I met Bree when she was 17 years old. I recruited her for my own club team” Hans said.

On Wednesday, Hans got a call from Wallace saying she wasn’t feeling well and so she went to check on her. “When I found her is when she was having an aneurysm in her brain and that is when she did have a stroke.

Wallace was rushed to Ascension via Christi St Francis for getting emergency brain surgery.  Hans says the last few days have been up and down.

“She’s definitely went through some hardship Friday and Saturday, but we were able to get her to sleep all day Saturday and so now she’s super cognizant this morning, she’s able to eat food.”

It’s been eye-opening experience for Hans seeing what happened to Bree, since typically people this young and healthy don’t have stokes. Wallace is only 24.

Hans now plans to be an advocate about the injury.

“It’s even just letting people know that this could happen at any time and you don’t need an injury, you don’t need to be sick, you don’t have to have cancer or preconditions; like, it literally you can be the happiest of happiest person.”

And while what happened to Wallace has been scary and sudden, Hans says she and the family have been comforted by many.

“The best part is just to see the outbursts of support throughout every avenue, when it comes to just Kansas, people outside of the state.”

Hans says Wallace is expected to be in the hospital for up to a month before starting rehab at home.

If you would like to help her, there is a GoFundMe set up for medical expenses. If you don’t want to donate there, you can also reach Hans at [email protected]