Written by JASON PETERS
Citizen staff
|
|
Wednesday, 26 November 2008 |
Starting setter back in action for provincials, healed after accident in metal shop class
Dani Broadfoot is back.
For the Duchess Park Condors, the timing of her return couldn’t be more perfect.
The local senior girls volleyball team starts play at the triple-A provincial championship tournament today in Langley. And, for the past few weeks, Broadfoot -- Duchess Park’s starting setter -- had been out of the lineup because of an accident in her metal shop class. While she was working on a project, she ground off the tip of the middle finger on her right hand.
The Grade 11 Broadfoot just recently got clearance from her doctor to resume playing.
“She’s feeling good, and the whole team is quite excited,” said Condors coach Richard Mintenko, whose club is seeded eighth for the 16-team B.C. final.
“Thank goodness that the bottom part of the finger wasn’t really hurt. It was only on the top -- went right down to the bone.”
While Broadfoot was recovering, Kelsey Piner -- another Grade 11 student -- took on the setting responsibilities and helped lead the Condors past the Kelly Road Roadrunners in the north central zone championship match.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Kelsey,” Mintenko said. “She did a wonderful job under the circumstances, but Dani’s just got the soft hands and consistent set that makes the team get excited.”
For provincials, Piner will now be able to move back to her natural position at power hitter. Meanwhile, thundering power hitter Amy Hogan and middle blocker Rebecca Zemlak got the chance to get reacquainted with Broadfoot during practices leading up to the B.C. tournament and seem to have found their groove.
“Amy has come alive again,” Mintenko said. “She can hit off Dani quite well and Rebecca is also hitting her quicks a lot more efficiently.”
The Condors will step onto the court against Brookswood of Langley today at 11:35 a.m. They will also face Windsor of North Vancouver at 2:15 p.m. and Kalamalka of Vernon at 4:55 p.m. Kalamalka, the No. 2 seed, should prove to be the toughest test for Duchess Park. Earlier this season, the Condors pushed the Vernon powerhouse to 30-28 in a set before losing.
Mintenko sees a top-five finish as realistic for the Condors.
“We’re a little bit short compared to the people in the Lower Mainland but we’re a rounded, well-disciplined team that can display a good skill set,” he said. “There’s no reason why we can’t be in the top five at provincials.”
The tournament final is slated for 5 p.m. on Saturday.
n The PGSS Polars are in Kelowna for the quadruple-A provincials, which also start today.
The Polars, who earned a wildcard berth to provincials after dropping the zone final to North Peace of Fort St. John, are the No. 15 seed in the 16-team event. They have matches today against Semiahmoo of Surrey, Dover Bay of Nanaimo and Argyle of North Vancouver. Those teams are ranked third, fifth and ninth respectively.
PGSS coach Allan Tong said earlier this week his team is capable of a top-eight finish.
The final will be played on Saturday, starting at 5 p.m. Handsworth of North Vancouver and Kelowna secondary are the top two seeds.
 |
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 26 November 2008 )
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
