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Whitfield Thrives After Surgery
by Janis Carr, Orange County Register
November 30, 2006
LONG BEACH The doctors told Talaya Whitfield her volleyball career was
over for now; postponed, canceled until further notice.
Whitfield, a newcomer on the Long Beach State women's volleyball team,
didn't listen to the doctors or her coach.
She didn't care what the prognosis was for her surgically repaired
left shin or that she had a foot-long metal rod inserted into her bone
marrow to prevent chronic shin splints.
"I missed volleyball," Whitfield said. "I missed playing,
I missed my
friends and helping the team win. The doctors thought I would be out
the entire season and that I would have to redshirt and play next
year. They told me to wait a year before trying to play on the leg."
Whitfield waited all of six months before testing her leg. She had the
surgery last February and was back in training camp in August.
When she returned, the only hint of her surgery was a sizable scar on
her knee. Whitfield could jump, spike and return without pain and
eventually worked her way into the 49ers' starting lineup.
A defensive specialist, Whitfield has been a key reason why the 49ers
(25-5) are headed to the NCAA Tournament, where they will play host to
Pepperdine (16-11) in a first-round match at 7 p.m. Friday at Walter
Pyramid.
No. 12 Hawaii (26-5) faces Oregon (17-11) in a 5 p.m. match.
In other first-round matches at USC, the Trojans play Mississippi and
BYU faces UC Santa Barbara today.
"I think we can at least go to the Final Four," Whitfield said.
"So
many people don't think we can do it."
Whitfield transferred to Long Beach State after two seasons at TCU,
where she started at libero in 28 of 31 matches as a sophomore.
She surpassed the single-season school record for digs (601). That's
only one of the records she holds at TCU, including six of the top 10
single-match dig totals and season dig percentage (5.09).
Despite her success, Whitfield never could shake her homesickness.
She went to Long Beach Poly, where she was named a Prep Volleyball
All-American and a league MVP, and wanted to return to the area.
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