Injured Ellis cheers, but TFA falls to LHP
Three days after undergoing a surgical procedure that installed a rod and pins in her fractured left leg, Sydney Ellis rejoined her The First Academy girls volleyball teammates as a cheerleader on Monday.
But reality for the Royals is that Ellis’ presence on the court was even stronger than her support and inspiration.
With Ellis sitting in a wheelchair behind its bench, underdog TFA (18-9) lost in four sets against host Lake Highland Prep (21-2) in a Class 5A, District 6 championship match that was suspended and rescheduled after she suffered a compound fracture to her left tibia and fibula in the early going of a final that began last Thursday at Trinity Prep.
Ellis leaped for a kill attempt on the fateful play. She descended to the floor as she had done so many times before and did not land awkwardly, but she collapsed onto the court in pain.
“When it happened I heard it snap,” she said before Monday’s match. “I reached down and I felt the bone outside of my skin. I didn’t look. I knew I would freak out.”
Ellis cheered and interacted with teammates on substitutions Monday as TFA tried to keep pace with a Highlanders team that is 21-2 and ranked No. 1 in its classification by MaxPreps. The Royals won game two to pull even but lost traction from there and fell 25-18, 22-25, 25-20, 25-15.
“She was a differencemaker,” Royals coach Dan Hedger said of Ellis afterward. “It’s a huge loss.”
Prior to Monday’s resumption, Lake Highland presented Ellis with a bouquet of flowers and a volleyball signed by all of its players wishing her well. And before that EmbryRiddle University, the college she committed to in the summer, assured her family that its scholarship offer still stands.
“That tells me I picked the right school,” the 17-year-old said with a smile. “The doctors said between three and six months I should be fully recovered.”
Both teams advance and are likely to meet again on Nov. 1 at Lake Highland.