Schools
Harvard-Westlake's Girls' Volleyball Team Defeats Notre Dame But Might Lose Salka
Dani Salka, one of the team's top players, was taken to a hospital Tuesday after injuring her knee in warmups prior to a three-game victory.
Harvard-Westlake High's girls' volleyball team is concerned about Dani Salka, who hurt her knee Tueday just prior to a three-set victory at Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks. She was taken to a local hospital, and an MRI is scheduled for today.
"It is not any mystery that Dani is very important to the team, and she is always on the court for us as an intricate part of our offense," coach Adam Black said. "I had to tell the team to keep their focus and we could win this game."
Harvard-Westlake (11-1, 1-0) triumphed by a score of 25-18, 25-15, 25-22, as Kellie Barnum totaled 35 assists and six digs, Amanda Hall added 14 kills, and Christina Higgins finished with 12 kills despite sitting out the third game.
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Notre Dame (10-3, 1-1) kept the final set close before the Wolverines served out the final four points for the win.
"There are definitely some points to our game we still need to work on," Black said. "We were a little sloppy in the beginning, and our defense took control of the tempo of the game. Kellie ran our offense before and I am proud at how she adapted tonight with the circumstances we played under."
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Barnum liked the way Harvard-Westlake pulled together despite Salka's injury.
"I think we came together as a team tonight with all things considered in regards to the injury to Dani Salka," Barnum said. "We wanted to win this game for her, and Coach told us to stay focused on the task at hand. Point by point is how we will win this game, which is how we played."
Added Higgins: "I was in shock when Dani went down considering she was just coming off an injury. Our team pulled together as a unit and we played hard. We just had to work on the little things for the game because they led to the bigger things during the match. I was focused on playing steady and getting the victory."
Mileva Popovic added eight kills and 11 digs, and Anne Cohen contributed nine digs.
Harvard-Westlake plays Thursday night at Chaminade (7-7) beginning at 6:30 p.m. Chaminade has won three of its last four matches after breaking a four-game losing streak.
