Hawaii junior middle hitter Annie Mitchem is recovering Wednesday following surgery for a fractured dislocation of the little finger on her right hand.

Mitchem, who had replaced junior opposite Nikki Taylor in the lineup, injured the finger early in Saturday’s win over UC Irvine. Taylor sat out the match for precautionary reasons after being hit in the head in a collision with setter Kendra Koelsch in Set 1 of Friday’s victory over UC Davis.

The recovery time for Mitchem is approximately six weeks, which would be the first round of the NCAA tournament.

“This is an unfortunate injury for Annie and the team,” said head coach Dave Shoji, who is on recruiting trip on the mainland. “She was playing well and improving daily. We hope she can rejoin the team soon.”

 Mitchem had appeared in 18 matches this season with three starts, two at middle hitter and one at opposite, with 51 kills and 33 blocks A.gains the Anteaters she recorded a career-high seven kills, two service aces, and 13 digs along with three blocks for a career-high 10.5 points.