Two days after playing Ohio State on Saturday, Leah Delcourt’s right pinky looked like a bulging mass of raw, flattened, refrigerated meat — one that could barely bend to a 90-degree angle.

It was this finger — broken during the second practice of the season — that had kept the middle blocker sidelined since the middle of August. When Delcourt entered Northwestern’s match against Penn State last Friday, it was her first action of the season.

The next night, the fifth-year senior anchored the middle of the NU volleyball team’s defense against the Buckeyes.

“She’s obviously experienced, brings a lot of energy and understands what needs to be done,” NU coach Keylor Chan said. “Hopefully she’ll win her starting spot back and make us a better team.”

Chan expects Delcourt to see plenty of playing time when NU (5-7, 0-2 Big Ten) hosts Wisconsin (6-4, 0-2) at Welsh-Ryan Arena tonight at 7 p.m.

Delcourt had a breakout season last year when she finished second on the team in blocks and recorded seven or more kills in seven matches.

While freshmen Stephanie Alde and Brittney Aldridge filled in nicely at the front of the net to begin this season, the team missed Delcourt’s presence.

“It’s always good to have another senior out on the court with me just as far as leadership and experience goes,” senior co-captain Drew Robertson said. “It’ll be nice to have her available to play.”

The broken finger was only the latest mishap in a career plagued by injuries. Delcourt redshirted her freshman year because of an ankle injury and the next season appeared in only 12 matches because of a separated shoulder.

After she came back in 2002, her body failed her again when a leg injury caused her to miss half the season.

The setbacks tested Delcourt’s resolve. But — befitting her persevering personality — she tried to stay positive.

“I’ve never thought about (the injuries) too much,” Delcourt said. “It’s just another challenge to get around.”

After a healthy junior campaign, Delcourt returned for her final year. It began, however, much like her career at NU: with an injury. In an August practice, Delcourt went up for a block and was drilled on her right hand by a devastating spike.

She suffered a spiral fracture in her little finger and watched as her team trudged through a strenuous non-conference schedule.

Unable to execute even a simple bump pass, Delcourt still attended practices and worked on what she could — which, for a long time, was just footwork and left-handed swings.

But between her weekly doctors’ appointments, she knew her time would come.

That time came last week when doctors removed the pin in her finger and cleared her to play. Before she knew it, she was back on the front line.

“It was awesome,” Delcourt said. “It’s just … I can’t explain it.”

Perhaps she was trying to say can be encapsulated in one defining moment during Saturday’s game against Ohio State.

The Buckeyes had five players with hitting percentages over .300, while no NU player hit higher than .167.

She jumped, as she has many times, for a block attempt. On the other side of the net, Ohio State’s Stacey Gordon leapt for the kill — the same Gordon who had destroyed the Cats’ defense all game, who blasted balls as if middle blockers like Delcourt didn’t exist.

This time, Delcourt squashed Gordon’s attack attempt for an NU point.

“I just went up and said a prayer,” Delcourt said. “It was perfect, it was textbook — it just hit my arms perfectly.”

Then she smiled.

“I think the ball hit the ground before my feet did.”

Reach Anthony Tao at [email protected].