A state Circuit Court judge this morning granted former Olympic and University of Hawaii volleyball player Kim Willoughby early release from probation for a 2006 assault.

Circuit Judge Karen Ahn said she doesn’t believe in giving special breaks to athletes, but is granting one in this case because Willoughby has done well during the two-and-a-half years she has been on probation and to allow Willoughby to take advantage of a professional volleyball playing opportunity in Russia.

Willoughby pleaded no contest in May 2009 to second-degree assault for punching another woman outside Pipeline Cafe in Kakaako. The woman suffered a broken nose and eye socket.

Ahn sentenced Willoughby to five years of probation in July 2009 under the terms of a plea agreement with the prosecutor.

Willoughby, 31, was a three-time all-American at UH and the 2003 Player of the Year her senior season. In 2008, she was a member of the U.S. women’s volleyball team, which took the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics.