9-1-25

How a devastating car accident transformed a rising volleyball star’s perspective on life, sport, and the precious nature of every moment

In the grand scheme of life, high school sports often feel like the center of the universe to those living within that bubble. Practices, games, rankings, and college recruitment dominate conversations around dinner tables and fill weekend calendars. But sometimes, in a single moment, that bubble bursts with such force that it reshapes everything we thought we knew about what truly matters.

For Aileen Xue, that moment came on a March day in 2024, when a car accident threatened not only her promising volleyball career but her very life. As she prepares to step back onto the court for her senior season at Hillsborough High School this week, her story serves as both a sobering reminder of life’s fragility and an inspiring testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

The Promise of Tomorrow

Just months before her world changed forever, Aileen was living what many would consider the perfect high school athlete’s dream. The junior volleyball phenom had established herself as one of New Jersey’s most dominant players, earning recognition as Skyland Conference Player of the Year and New Jersey Central Player of the Year. Her statistics were staggering… 257 kills and 230 digs in her 2023 season alone, bringing her career totals to 622 kills with her senior year still ahead.

But Aileen’s excellence extended far beyond the volleyball court. She ranked in the top 1% of her junior class academically, served as treasurer of the orchestra council, and was a member of the Spanish Honor Society. Most remarkably, she had earned a spot on the prestigious Taiwanese Under-18 Women’s National Volleyball team and held a commitment to play at NYU, a dream scenario for any high school athlete.

Her team had capped off an undefeated season as Somerset County Champions, and the future seemed limitless. Everything was aligned perfectly: the grades, the talent, the opportunities, and the support system to make her dreams reality.

Then, in an instant that no one could have predicted or prevented, everything changed.

When Life Stops

The details of the March 2024 accident are less important than its devastating impact. What matters is that a brilliant young woman who had spent years perfecting her craft, building her academic record, and nurturing relationships with teammates and coaches, suddenly found herself fighting for her life in a trauma center.

The traumatic brain injury Aileen sustained required immediate intervention at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital’s Level I Trauma Center. Six brain surgeries followed. Weeks passed in a medically induced coma. The volleyball court, the classroom, the orchestra rehearsals, all the pieces of her carefully constructed life, seemed impossibly distant.

For seven months, Aileen’s world contracted to hospital rooms and rehabilitation centers. The young woman who had once soared through the air to deliver crushing kills now faced the fundamental challenge of relearning basic human functions.

“While in the hospital, it was almost like I was a newborn: I relearned how to speak, eat, and walk,” Aileen reflects with remarkable composure. “It’s crazy to think that over a year ago I couldn’t even walk, but I’m now playing volleyball again, a sport where jumping is absolutely necessary.”

The Power of Purpose

Here’s where Aileen’s story transcends the typical narrative of athletic comeback. While many might expect a young person to emerge from such trauma with diminished ambitions or a changed perspective that prioritizes safety over dreams, Aileen chose a different path. Rather than allowing her accident to define her limitations, she used volleyball as both motivation and medicine.

Even during her darkest days in the hospital, the sport remained central to her identity and recovery. “All my therapists at the hospital were aware that I loved the game, so they incorporated the sport into all types of therapy,” she explains. “Even before I was fully conscious, when they placed a volleyball on my hands, I was able to put my hands in the proper forearm passing form.”

This detail is profound in its simplicity. While Aileen’s conscious mind was still fighting to return, her muscle memory, built through thousands of hours of practice and play, remained intact. The sport that had shaped her adolescence became the bridge connecting her past self to her future possibilities.

“Peppering with my dad while in the hospital was also a big part of resuming the game,” she recalls. “When I first touched a volleyball again, it brought back the joyful memory of how it felt getting a kill.”

Rebuilding from the Ground Up

The path back to the court was neither linear nor easy. Aileen’s first attempts to serve revealed the distance she would need to travel. “The first time I stepped back on a court, I remember being unable to serve overhand, so my dad instructed me first to serve how my 9-year-old self did,” she says. “Serving underhand made me frustrated and disappointed, since I felt like all the work I had done over the years was useless.”

This moment captures something essential about elite athletes. Their relationship with their craft runs so deep that any step backward feels like betrayal. For someone who had spent years perfecting a jump serve, being reduced to underhand serving represented more than just a physical limitation; it was a confrontation with mortality and the reality that some things, once lost, must be painstakingly rebuilt.

But Aileen’s frustration became fuel. “As I mentioned before, I can now jump serve, which shows that my dedication to the sport has paid off.” The statement is delivered matter-of-factly, but it represents months of grueling work, incremental progress, and unwavering commitment to returning to her former level.

Adapting and Evolving

What makes Aileen’s comeback particularly compelling is her honest assessment of how she’s had to evolve as a player. “My vertical is definitely a lot lower than it used to be,” she acknowledges, “but I have grown taller by 1-2 centimeters while in a coma.” There’s almost a wry humor in noting this unexpected benefit of her ordeal.

More significantly, she’s had to reimagine her approach to the game. “Also, in terms of hitting, instead of using as much power as I used to, I now use a lot more smart shots, placing balls where the opponent isn’t defending.” This adaptation speaks to athletic intelligence and maturity, recognizing that peak performance sometimes requires evolution, not just restoration.

The progression from underhand serving to standing overhand to jump serving tells a story of methodical determination. Each step represented not just physical recovery but psychological victory. Proof that the gap between where she was and where she wanted to be was not insurmountable.

The Village That Lifts

Throughout her journey, Aileen has been surrounded by a community that refused to let her face these challenges alone. “I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone… all my friends, teammates and coaches, for the incredible support I’ve received, which has made me consider them family,” she says.

The specific actions of her coaches reveal how sports communities can transcend competition to become something more meaningful. Her club coach organized an Alumni Exhibition Match fundraiser while she was still hospitalized. Her high school coach created a Skyland Conference All-Star Game in her honor, donating proceeds to EndDistractedDriving.org… turning Aileen’s tragedy into advocacy for preventing similar accidents.

“Currently, the walls of my room are flooded with cards and posters sent to me from them and my teammates, as well as from people I’m not familiar with,” Aileen notes. “During my recovery journey, my entire church and even other churches overseas have been praying for me.”

This outpouring of support illustrates how individual stories can ripple outward, creating networks of care that extend far beyond immediate circles. The volleyball community that had watched Aileen dominate courts across New Jersey rallied to support her when she needed it most.

Lessons in Perspective

Perhaps the most striking aspect of Aileen’s response to her ordeal is her philosophical approach to adversity. “Every athlete will face challenges, no matter what,” she observes. “Every obstacle you meet happens for a reason. Oftentimes, experiencing hardships will push you to work even harder and experience growth. Persevering through these difficult trials is what separates you from the rest.”

This isn’t the hollow optimism of someone who hasn’t truly suffered. This is hard-earned wisdom from someone who has stared down the ultimate challenge and found meaning in the struggle. Her perspective offers something valuable to every athlete who has ever faced setback, disappointment, or injury: the understanding that obstacles, however devastating they might seem in the moment, can become catalysts for growth.

A Future Redefined

As Aileen prepares for her senior season, after missing out on an entire year of school, her goals have evolved. The original plan, NYU volleyball, collegiate competition, perhaps beyond, has been replaced by something more nuanced and perhaps more mature. “I’m primarily putting my efforts into getting even just 1% better every day,” she explains. “At the moment, I’m focusing mainly on my senior season. That’s not saying that I won’t play volleyball in college, but currently I want to concentrate on my academics and college applications.”

This shift in priority might disappoint those who see athletic achievement as the ultimate validation of recovery. But Aileen’s approach reveals a deeper understanding of success and fulfillment. She’s learned to hold her dreams lightly while pursuing them intensely, a balance that many people never achieve.

“No matter what, volleyball will always be at the heart of who I am and was a major reason why I was able to recover as a ‘0.1% miracle,'” she concludes. The sport that nearly became a memory has instead become central to her identity and recovery narrative.

The Larger Message

Aileen’s story forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about the nature of life and the illusion of control we maintain over our futures. Her experience demonstrates how quickly circumstances can change and how the things we take for granted, our health, our abilities, our carefully laid plans, can vanish without warning.

But more importantly, her journey back illustrates the extraordinary capacity of the human spirit to adapt, persevere, and find meaning in suffering. She has transformed from a talented athlete with a bright future into something more significant: a living example of resilience and grace under pressure.

For the New Jersey volleyball community that has followed her career, Aileen’s return to the court this week represents more than just another player taking the floor. It’s a reminder to pause and appreciate the miraculous nature of what we often treat as routine. The ability to run, jump, serve, and spike; the privilege of competing with friends; the simple joy of playing a game we love.

Back Where She Belongs

As Aileen steps back onto the court for her senior season at Hillsborough, she carries with her more than just the physical scars of her ordeal. She carries the prayers of churches across continents, the hopes of a community that rallied around her, and the hard-earned wisdom that comes from rebuilding one’s life from the ground up.

“I’m back and more excited than ever to return to the court with my passion for volleyball!” she declares, and in that exclamation point lies the full force of her remarkable journey. She’s not just returning to play; she’s returning as proof that the human spirit, when tested to its absolute limits, can not only survive but emerge stronger, wiser, and more grateful than before.

Her story reminds us that while high school sports may seem small in the grand scheme of life, they can also serve as powerful vehicles for growth, community, and healing. Sometimes, the court isn’t just where we play a game, it’s where we discover who we really are and what we’re truly capable of overcoming.

As the New Jersey volleyball community watches Aileen take the court this week, they’ll be witnessing more than just another senior season. They’ll be seeing a miracle in motion, a testament to the power of perseverance, and a reminder that every moment we have to play the game we love is a gift that should never be taken for granted.

In a world that often moves too fast to appreciate the precious nature of each day, Aileen Xue’s story asks us to stop, if only for a moment, and recognize the extraordinary in what we might otherwise consider ordinary. Her return is not just a comeback, it’s a celebration of the resilience that defines the very best of human nature.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” – Proverbs 3:5