Nampa volleyball player makes a point — with her face

Sabrina Radford’s Idaho Crush U-17 club volleyball team was locked in a tough championship match with a Salt Lake City team Saturday.

But the match wasn’t nearly as tough as Radford, who took a shot to the face that turned things around for the Crush.

After taking the direct hit, Radford crashed onto the floor. She popped her head up right away and watched the ball glide over the net to score a point. She threw her arms up, hopped up and began high-fiving her teammates, who were beside themselves, laughing.

“That’s what kind of turned the game around for us,” Crush coach Maren Ericson said.

Even Radford’s mother couldn’t contain herself.

“Her mom was crying tears, laughing,” Ericson said. “She was just dying.”

The team went on to win the next two games, the match and tournament championship, said Ericson, who credited the face-shot as the point that led to the win.

Radford wasn’t injured, Ericson said. She doesn’t have bruises and didn’t report concussion symptoms.

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 11:32 AM with the headline "Nampa volleyball player makes a point — with her face."