Big West Freshman of the Year Mahalia White is Cancer Free

Back in January, UC Davis outside hitter Mahalia White, who was fresh off a rookie campaign that brought her Big West Freshman of the Year and All-Big West first team nods announced she had Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The Canoga Park, California, native recently took to twitter to give an update on her status… she is cancer free.

SO FRESH, SO CLEAN, OFFICIALLY CANCER FREE✨? #remission pic.twitter.com/x5jvqqITWJ

— mahalia white (@mahaliawhite_) May 19, 2018

White said in a post announcing her initial diagnosis that she experienced a lot of back pain during the season and a postseason MRI showed the cancer.

View this post on Instagram

Hey all, it’s me! So 2018 is gonna be a big challenge for me. For those of you who don’t know, I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, called Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, the day right after my birthday (Dec. 3rd) (Happy Birthday to me am I right 😜) During my first season of college volleyball, which was a great season might I add lol, I was experiencing a lot of back pain but I had thought that it was just due to all the extensive activity that I was doing. Right after season, I got an MRI and cancer was definitely not something that I expected. I’ve been in and out of the hospital a lot this past month and tomorrow I am starting my first chemotherapy. With that being said, the cancer is curable and can be treated, but it will be a long and challenging six months. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fighter and I attack anything (mainly volleyballs, but cancer too now) that’s in my way! 💪🏾 Love, support, and prayers would definitely be appreciated 😘😘😘 P.s. you already know I’m still me and I had to flex in the picture even though I look busted😜💪🏾

A post shared by Mahalia White (@mahaliawhite_) on Jan 4, 2018 at 12:22pm PST

White went through chemo therapy and shaved her head after her first treatment according to media reports.

The Canoga Park, California native, earned six Big West Freshman of the Week nods during a season that saw her pound down an Aggie freshman record 398 kills, an average of 3.55 per set, while hitting at a .246 clip. Her nearest teammate was Emily Allen, who notched 279 putaways.

During conference play, the rookie upped her contributions to 4.19 kills per set and a .298 hitting effort, including six 20-plus kill matches and a season-high 27 against Long Beach State.

UC Davis has not yet announced its 2018 slate and it is unknown if White will be back on the court for the season opener.

The Aggies went 16-14 in 2017, including an 8-8 mark in Big West play.