DAVIS, Calif. - Mahalia White's story is well-documented.

The former Chatsworth Charter High standout was the Big West Conference freshman volleyball Player of the Year.

In 2017 the UC Davis striker had limped to the end of the season with a pain in her back. White figured it was fatigue and didn't inquired of a doctor until late that year.

The diagnosis was devastating: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Stage 4.

"It was pretty crazy," White told me last spring. "When I was initially diagnosed with cancer, the first I thought about was my mom (Patsy) because she had just fought — and won — her breast-cancer battle. The five months later, I got my diagnosis."

Since, White, 20, has been to hell and back.

She missed all of last season. Through hospitalization, treatments including chemotherapy and physical therapy, White found solace in falling back on faith and the support of family, teammates and Aggie staff.

Meanwhile, White gradually made her comeback.

She spent last year, when she could, in support of her UC Davis colleagues at practice and the sidelines. By spring, her debut in a match with Stanford brought tears of wonder, tears of joy — and concern among all those Aggie opponents lined up for this fall.

On Aug. 30, with her cancer in remission, White announced she was back.

No, she didn't have a press conference but she did hold court, so to speak. She came out in the opener versus Montana by tying the school's single-match hitting-percentage standard with 13 kills in 16 swings (.813).

Aggie Director of Volleyball Dan Conners was asked his redshirt sophomore's second coming:

"I think I've been able to work through a lot of the emotions before. Her coming back in the spring, getting to play Stanford...

"But having a performance like she did in the first match of the fall season was just pretty amazing. I feel so lucky to be involved in that story and her life. She's such an amazing kid. I'm so proud of everything she puts in."

After four contests, the Aggies are unbeaten. My colleague at The Davis Enterprise, Owen Yancher, caught up with White after UC Davis dispatched Sacramento State earlier this week, 3-1. It was a match in which the organizational studies major had 14 more kills.

"I feel like the sky's the limit right now," White told Yancher. "I feel like I'm playing on adrenaline, since I've been sitting out for so long — and it's finally go-time!

"I can always be better, but it's great playing on the high."

Whoa. She says she can "be better?" Holy cow. Remember, she was freshman of the year. Her current 42 kills are tied for second on the team and her return augments an otherwise still-powerful lineup (think senior Lauren Matias, defender extraordinaire Josie Ough and sophomore Demari Webb).

White knows this cancer battle goes on. In remission doesn't mean cured. But regular doctor visits have provided ever-increasing positive reports. Cured, she and her family and all of Aggie Nation, pray is on the horizon.

"As of right now, I feel so strong," White told the local newspaper. "I'm playing with no pain, my energy is up and it feels so great to go back out and get after it."

As if getting back to the volleyball courts isn't enough, her calendar is chock-a-block with other responsibilities.

She volunteers for Keaton's Child Cancer Alliance of Roseville. As an ambassador of UC Davis, she is a frequent speaker and has made regular visits to the UC Davis Children's Hospital in Sacramento.

The media makes constant requests for her time, too. Interviews with ABC10-TV, the Sacramento Bee, California Aggie, The Enterprise, VolleyballMag.com. and guys like me borrowing her precious time make her regularly interrupt what she'd planned for a morning or afternoon. And can you blame the clamor? Mahalia's feel-good story — her courage and outlook — should be shared far and wide.

But right now, for the first time in more than 18 months, White is again wearing No. 5 loud and proud.

This week I asked Mahalia where she thinks these Aggies are headed? It's the first time since 2011 UC Davis has been 4-0 and the road trip — which features a Friday, 9 a.m., tilt with Pac-12 power Utah — should be another barometer for these ever-improving locals.

"We're excited about the four wins we have so far," she told me. "But we're a young team. We have a lot to learn and we're still growing. I think maintaining the focus on ourselves and our game and not worrying about the people across the net (will be the long-term key).

"We have a lot of great physical pieces, but finding out how to gel on the court ... finding out how to be the best we can be with each other" is what White sees as vital stepping stones for the future success.

And what does Mahalia's presence mean in the coach's eyes?

"A couple of things," conveys Conners. "She's an incredibly reliable attacker, an offensive weapon. And being able to set her the ball — to count on her to ... take a big swing in a tough situation — is really nice to have.

With White back in the lineup, the Aggie outlook just accelerated 10-fold.


Editor's note: One of the most well-known and respected sports writers in the industry, former Davis Enterprise sports and managing editor Bruce Gallaudet joined the UC Davis Athletics staff as its feature writer in the summer of 2018. Since then, visitors to UCDavisAggies.com have enjoyed his unique perspective on campus student-athletes, coaches, teams, individuals, programs, events and projects that represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation.