Friday, November 6, 2009

Carey girls pull together to help injured player

Beat Nezperce at the state tourney

---

Carey High School volleyball players, who this fall earned the school’s first state tournament berth since 2005. Front row, from left, sophomore Darby Northcott, junior Danie Hennefer and sophomore Taylor Castle. Middle row, from left, sophomore Nicky Gomez, senior Taylor Whitby, senior Jenni Murphy, senior Jessica Parke and senior Amy Ellsworth. Top row, from left, soph Kelly Patterson, junior Lorene Andrews, manager Lily Rivera, freshman Erika Zarate, manager Kylie Castle and soph Micaela Adamson. Courtesy photo by John Peck

Sometimes the heart of a champion isn't always in the person or team with the championship trophy.

That's what Carey High School principal John Peck said after watching the Panther volleyball team pull together in Friday's loser-out game of the State 1A Division 2 tournament at Lewiston High School.

Trailing Nezperce 13-11 in the fifth game of an emotional best-of-five match, Carey faced yet another hurdle when senior setter Taylor Whitby twisted her foot badly and hurt her knee. She could hardly walk on it, but somehow toughed it out.

She was in tears, but would not come out of the game.

The other girls on the team helped her, took balls Taylor would have normally gotten and grabbed her after each dead ball. Micaela Adamson got the serve and dished out two aces. Carey then scratched out two more points to prevail.

It wasn't Taylor's first knee injury and all her teammates realized that. They had an emotional group hug after. Peck said it was an amazing display of heart and team effort.