Its 15 minutes before game time, and Colleen Smith is at the net, front and center for the DePaul volleyball team. The 24-year-old Illinois natives got gum in her mouth and a smile on her face, and shes helping her hitters get in some warm-up swings. Chew, smile, set, repeat.Five years ago, on a different campus, the former high school All-American setter, a freshman at Indiana, kept a different routine. Cough, ache, puke, rest.Smiths life was in danger, not to mention her volleyball career. Her body was attacking itself. She was vomiting blood. Her red blood cell count was half of what it should be. Her lungs collected fluid.Doctors at IU made a rare diagnosis: granulomatosis with polyangiitis, also known as Wegeners granulomatosis -- a disease that drastically slows the flow of blood through the kidneys, lungs, throat and nose. After that came blood transfusions, chemotherapy and dozens of prescriptions.But even as a freshman lying in a hospital bed, Smith plotted her return to volleyball. She thought about it as a sophomore, too, when the Hoosiers coaching staff told her they no longer had a scholarship spot for her. She thought about it each time she was rejected by a program that wooed her as a transfer because the doctors didnt want to take on the risk of a Wegeners patient.Those five years led to this moment: Senior Day. Nov. 13. Her final home game at DePaul.Now third in program history in assists, Smith is still receiving chemotherapy treatments -- just once every six months now -- and is considering a professional career overseas.I just love that winning feeling, she said. It was important for me to get back to that.On this November day, as she flicks the ball behind her to a streaking hitter, she thinks back on all those battles won. Her eyes are on the next pass, well before the hitters spike smacks the ground.Chew, smile, set, repeat. She savors this moment. It is a gift.***Wegeners is rare. That much we know. A 2009 study in Arthritis & Rheumatology estimates that it occurs in about one in every 125,000 people. Others believe it goes widely underdiagnosed and is far more common. Either way, a statistician would tell you the odds of an elite NCAA athlete having Wegeners are minuscule.I feel like its so easy to give up on your dreams and your goals, Smith said, but I knew that volleyball was such a huge impact on my life, and it has truly shaped me into the person that I am today.There are little reminders of what shes gone through at every DePaul home game. Her parents and sisters, who live in the Chicago suburbs, know just how precious each moment on the court is for Smith and never miss a match. She has a red bow, the color chosen for autoimmune disease and Wegeners awareness, in her hair, and she and her teammates have bows on their shoes, too. As her career nears its end with one last Big East game Sunday against Butler in Indianapolis, theres this, too: a single-season program record for wins in the Big East.Before Smith tallied the first of her 4,185 assists (and counting) as a Blue Demon, coach Nadia Edwards was well equipped to bring Smith in despite her disease. Rush University Medical Center in Chicago provided a primary care location that would suit Smiths needs, and DePaul gave Smith a chance to continue competing in a big conference while staying close to home.We knew the talent that she possessed, but every single day she stepped on the court, she gave us her all, Edwards said. Shes been the anchor of our team for the last four years.Those four years werent without obstacles, either, on and off the court. She endured a 3-27 season her second year with the program. Then, this January, she had a Wegeners flare-up. While at dinner with her family, her mouth filled with blood before spouting from her nose. It took her a few months to get back to playing.I was a little surprised because she was doing very well, and she was on medication, said Dr. Roger Rodby, a nephrology specialist at Rush who has worked with Smith the past four years. Of all the diseases I take care of in the autoimmune spectrum, this ones the toughest. Its the one thats hardest to get to go away, and its the most likely to come back.But she came back, too, and its hard to imagine it going any differently. Smith is eternally positive, and playing volleyball trumps all ailments. Earlier in the season, she took an eight-hour chemo treatment on a Monday so she could recover and play DePauls two weekend road matches. She slipped in and out of sleep with her dad and one of her sisters by her side. The picture she took during the treatment, though, belied the difficulties it presented. She gave a beaming smile with a thumbs-up, the Chicago skyline in the background.Somehow, Smith didnt miss a match this season.Its just crazy to think back when I was at Indiana that, basically, a lot of people thought I was never gonna be able to play again, she said. I really do believe that everything happens for a reason, and I found my home here at DePaul. It definitely worked out.Her next home might be in Europe, where the odds are tougher still. Edwards played professionally and said Smiths talent isnt even a discussion. Shes good enough. Its about finding a team that needs a setter and, again, can accommodate her condition. And, isnt already at the cap for the number of American players allowed on its roster. Her dad, Bubba Smith, wants her to do it, no matter how nervous having his daughter that far away might be.But Europe is, thats her dream, he said. Fulfill it. Because every other dream youve had, youve fulfilled it. That would be something, you know? Jim Valvano, whatd he say that time? Every day, youve got to be able to smile, to cry, and thats a fulfilling day.Laugh, think, cry, repeat. Smiths familiar with that routine, too.***Smith locks arms with her mom and dad and walks toward her teammates and coaches. The gum is gone, but the smiles still there. The tears and memories have crept in, too. One of her outside hitters, Myah Reed, barely holds in her sobs.Smith celebrates with DePauls two other seniors. She hugs about two dozen fans -- friends and family -- in the stands. Then she sits down in the bleachers at McGrath-Phillips Arena, her home for the past four years, with that support system surrounding her. Everyone smiles. Cameras flash. There are two games left, but this has a feeling of permanence to it. Its hard not to think of the end.Smith lets herself do that, briefly. But as usual, her thoughts turn from whats happened to whats next.We still have season left, she said.And whatever else comes after it. 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EAST LANSING, Mich. -- It had been nearly two months since Michigan State won a game, so coach Mark Dantonio and the Spartans were happy to celebrate this victory.Even if this was merely a matchup to see who could climb out of last place.Tyler OConnor threw three touchdown passes in the first half, and Michigan State snapped its seven-game losing streak with a 49-0 rout of Rutgers on Saturday in what was a matchup of the last two teams in the Big Ten without a conference win.We sort of climbed out under a rock a little bit, Dantonio said. Youd have thought we won the championship in that locker room. Its been a long time.Now Rutgers (2-8, 0-7) is alone at the bottom of the league after the Spartans (3-7, 1-6) raced out to a 35-0 halftime lead. LJ Scott ran for 103 of his 122 yards in the first half, and Demetrious Cox returned an interception for a touchdown.Rutgers never made it farther than the Michigan State 27-yard line -- and on that drive in the second quarter, the Scarlet Knights ended up punting from the 30. The Spartans drove 92 yards the other way and took a 28-0 lead on a 4-yard touchdown pass from OConnor to Josiah Price.Price caught two touchdown passes, including a 2-yarder that opened the scoring in the first quarter. Cox made it 14-0 with a 30-yard interception return, and OConnor added a 50-yard touchdown pass to Trishton Jackson later in the first.We got dominated from the start to the finish up front on both sides of the ball, Rutgers coach Chris Ash said.THE TAKEAWAYRutgers: This was a matchup of two teams at the bottom of the Big Ten, but it didnt look like they were on the same level. This was an obvious setback for the Scarlet Knights, who had been more competitive lately in losses to Minnesota and Indiana.Michigan State: Theres nothing the Spartans can do now to make up for the horrendous losing streak that derailed theiir season, but this was about as emphatic as a victory can get.dddddddddddd Michigan State outgained Rutgers 440-149 -- and did it without injured defensive lineman Malik McDowell .LOYALThere were plenty of empty seats at kickoff, but the turnout ended up being fairly good considering the circumstances. Attendance was announced at 73,701, and both Dantonio and OConnor made a point of expressing their appreciation afterward.The fans that supported us today -- it was awesome to still see that many people pack Spartan Stadium, OConnor said. Were playing for people like that.BOTH WAYSMichigan State freshman Donnie Corley had two catches for 18 yards and also played some on defense. He made two tackles.STRANGE PENALTYMichigan State had a chance to substitute liberally late in the game, and that led to an unusual call in the second half. Running back Delton Williams and wide receiver Paul Andrie were in the game at the same time, but they both wear No. 22.The Spartans were penalized 5 yards.EXTRACURRICULARSAsh said he was disappointed that his team lost focus at times. Quarterback Giovanni Rescigno elaborated.Some of the guys were jawing with their guys, Rescigno said. Coach talks to us all the time about, youve got to stay focused, stay focused on the task at hand and in what were doing.UP NEXTRutgers: The Scarlet Knights return home to face Penn State next weekend, and theyll be heavy underdogs again.Michigan State: The Spartans host No. 6 Ohio State. The Buckeyes will be out to avenge an upset loss to Michigan State last year that kept Ohio State out of the national title hunt.---For more college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister ' ' '