If good things come in threes, then Dec. 20 could be a remarkable day for Jessica Keefe.

Not only does the Rainbow Wahine senior hitter turn 23, but her birthday coincides with Hawaii's commencement ceremony. It's when she receives a business/sports marketing degree with honors.

The third event on the last day of autumn would be just as momentous. It's the last day of the NCAA women's volleyball season, with a champion crowned in Omaha, Neb.

To be playing for the title at the Qwest Center, less than 3 hours from where she was raised would be the perfect ending to the athletic career of the self-proclaimed perfectionist. Because, whenever that final ball goes down on Hawaii's season, that also will be the final whistle on Keefe's athletic career.

“;I think it's starting to dawn on me, I'm starting to get a little sentimental,”; said Keefe, one of four Wahine seniors playing their final regular-season home matches. “;I'm thinking, 'Wow, this may be the last time I do this, the last time I do that, the last time to go here or there.'

“;But it is the last two games in the Stan Sheriff Center. I never thought this day would come.”;

But it has, with all the force of one of senior Jamie Houston's kills. For Keefe, it's a bittersweet curtain that will fall on an injury-filled career, one marked by brief court appearances mostly as a role player.

Keefe, the Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year in high school, has persevered to make it happen. Two knee surgeries and countless hours of rehabilitation did not deter her.

“;It's hard to want to wake up some mornings, hard to show up not really knowing if there will be results to what you're doing,”; Keefe said. “;It wasn't an option for me to quit. Maybe my body was telling me it wasn't such a good idea to keep playing, but I wanted to prove to myself more than anybody that I could do this and finish it all the way through.

“;Five years ago, I wouldn't have thought this is how it would go. But from this vantage point looking back, I'm a far better person having had to work harder at just the simple things.”;

Those things included walking and then running, hard for most, harder for someone who excelled in three sports at Ames (Iowa) High: volleyball, basketball and track.

“;Ultimately, it's been a learning experience,”; Keefe said. “;I've learned life lessons, how to persevere, have patience, work hard regardless of the physical outcome.

“;I had to teach myself how to walk, run, jump and play volleyball all over again. It wasn't that easy. But I look back on all of this as a positive experience.”;

Things were going well her sophomore year as a right-side hitter when she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee after putting down match ball at Louisiana Tech.

“;I was trying too hard to hit the ball hard and end the match that I didn't think about the landing,”; she said.

Keefe had company when rehabbing. The rest of the 2004 recruiting class—Nickie Thomas and Tara Hittle—were also sidelined with injuries in 2006.

Keefe prefers to focus on the positive of the situation. The three will be leaving the same way they arrived in 2004: celebrating senior night together Friday, along with Jamie Houston, a 2005 recruit who didn't use a redshirt year.

“;Houston is just a phenomenal athlete, her athleticism and vert (vertical) jump is amazing,”; Keefe said. “;She has this ability to jump and if she can't hit it with her right, she can put it down with her left.

“;I don't think I've ever met someone who is so outgoing and personable as Tara. And Nickie is so strong minded, has such a strong sense of who she is. I admire that.”;

Keefe had earned the respect of her teammates and her coaches. She's balanced her life in the classroom—3.92 grade-point average in business—and on the court.

“;Jessica is just a solid person,”; Wahine coach Dave Shoji said. “;I appreciate what she brings to the practice gym every day. She's made herself into a pretty good blocker.

“;She plays hard in practice, give us a block that is hard to hit against.”;

After graduation, Keefe will move to Colorado, where her parents live. The goal is to get a sports marketing job with a professional team in Denver.

“;Football by far is my favorite sport to watch,”; she said, “;mainly because I was never able to play it. It has that allure.

“;I've been following the Broncos lately. Working for them would be great.”;

And, if asked, she knows exactly how she'd market her UH experience.

“;Hawaii is a great place to be a college athlete, especially a volleyball player,”; she said. “;Being asked for autographs will never cease to amaze me.”;