While most 24-year-olds are adapting to life without college, or playing a sport, Natalie Uhart is still going strong, just as long as her body lets her.

The sixth-year senior from Lansing is ready to show how talented this year’s Jayhawks volleyball squad is, even if they’ve encountered some bumps and bruises along the way.

Uhart recently came back from a congenital heart defect that forced her to sit out for 20 matches last year. “I go through phases of being frustrated,” Uhart said. “Then I just get used to it.”

Uhart is used to her fair share of injuries. She suffered a knee injury that forced her to miss her entire junior year. The NCAA granted her a medical redshirt early last season, giving her a sixth year of eligibility. But more recently a heart condition limited her playing time last year, although she still led the team with 1.71 blocks per game and a .271 hitting percentage.

“It never crossed my mind that I would stop playing,” Uhart said. “But I thought about if I was going to live till 40.”

With all the injuries she’s had to endure, Uhart said she contemplated a switch to her high school number 15, thinking her college number was jinxed, but decided to stick with it. Even being named to the preseason All-Big 12 coaches’ team hasn’t added any pressure to Uhart.

“I’ve been through it,” Uhart said. “I know I can play.”

Kansas coach Ray Bechard also understands the value of having a player with Uhart’s talent and experience.

“She’s got tremendous courage, I think she’s a winner,” said Bechard. “A lot of people would probably walk away from the sport.”

Uhart’s teammates share the same sentiments as their coach when talking about Uhart and what she brings to the table.

“She can do everything, help anywhere on the court,” senior middle blocker Savannah Noyes said.

Uhart, Noyes and the other veterans will help with leadership and maintaining the chemistry of the team.

“Natalie has her place, I have mine,” Noyes said. “And the younger players offer help too, when it’s their area.”

Kansas can boast a healthy squad that will see the return of junior middle blocker Brittany Williams, who tore her ACL last season, and the Jayhawks return experienced sophomores Melissa Menda and Jenna Kaiser as well. But an NCAA tournament birth isn’t guaranteed in the extremely tough Big 12 Conference. A league with Nebraska, who went to the Final Four last year, and Texas, a top 10 school, will prove difficult.

“We will be very disappointed if we are not playing in Decemeber,” Bechard said. Kansas hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2005.

Williams agrees with her coach’s expectation.

“We want to make it to December,” Williams said. “We can feel confident.”

Uhart also has her own checklist for what she wants done so she can walk away from the game happy, including showing that the Jayhawks, ranked no. 10 in the Big 12 preseason coaches’ poll, are far more talented than their ranking indicates.

“I want to prove a lot of people wrong,” Uhart said. “Shut a lot of people up, who rank us low.”

— — Edited by Ramsey Cox