COLLEYVILLE – Amanda Anderson couldn't believe her older brother, Chris, remembered that she loved purple daisies. He also had a bouquet of roses for his mother, Jill Lentini.

Chris had just finished his shift at T.J. Seafood Market in Dallas, where he had worked as a cook on and off for six years. A student at Oklahoma State, Chris came home the first weekend of April to earn some extra cash.

On his way back to school, he stopped off for his mother and sister's birthday dinner. The flowers capped a perfect day for Amanda and Jill, who had been pampered earlier with a spa treatment from Emily Anderson, Chris and Amanda's older sister.

"We had a good dinner, and everybody was happy," Amanda said. "I was so touched that he got me flowers. I held my tears in because he was right there. I gave him a real good hug before he left."

Chris Anderson died five days later.

Chris was involved in a head-on, two-car collision in Stillwater, Okla., shortly after midnight April 11, 17 days shy of his 21st birthday. According to a police report, the car Chris was driving swerved left into another car. Chris' friend Andrew Chilicki was a passenger and suffered a minor laceration. The driver of the other car was not injured.

Amanda was in Houston for a volleyball tournament when the accident occurred. She caught an early-morning flight back home and was told when she arrived that Chris had died.

Volleyball has served as the perfect respite for Amanda, 17, who will be a senior at Colleyville Heritage this fall. Her club team, Texas Advantage Volleyball, will compete in the 17-and-under open division at the USA Junior Olympic Volleyball Championships that begin today at the Dallas Convention Center. Texas Advantage Volleyball, which begins pool play Saturday, finished second nationally at last year's event.

Since her brother's death, Amanda, a 6-2 middle blocker, has tried to focus on preparing for this year's tournament.

"No matter what, I think about him nonstop," Amanda said. "One of the biggest steps was forcing myself to get back into a routine and playing volleyball, but I wish he was here so I could tell him how I'm doing."

Amanda hasn't missed a team practice since Chris' death. Her willingness to jump back into volleyball so quickly concerned her parents initially because she didn't seem to be grieving as openly as they were.

"I believe the toughness she's learned from playing sports has helped her through this very sad time," Lentini said. "She's been grieving in private. There are times when I see her, and I know she's been crying."

One of her closest friends, Haley Wessels, said it's sometimes difficult to gauge Amanda's feelings because of her upbeat personality.

"Amanda's the type of person who is positive about everything," said Wessels, a former club teammate. "That team is really close. That sense of everyone is there for each other has helped her a lot."

One thing Amanda never realized was how much Chris knew about her accomplishments. Chris didn't see her play often because he was at school. At Chris' funeral, Amanda was touched when his friends told her about much he had talked about her volleyball talents.

"I was surprised because we were like [typical] brother and sister," Amanda said. "We'd always mess with each other nonstop. We'd never compliment each other for no reason. So it was nice that he thought about me like that. He was always so proud, and I had no idea."

Today-July 5, Dallas Convention Center

Results and schedules can be found at usavolleyball.org.