91原创 sitting volleyball star Danielle Ellis led Team Canada to victory at the Paralympic Qualification Tournament and a berth in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.
Canada punched their ticket Saturday (Feb. 29) after a win over Ukraine to take gold at the World ParaVolley Women鈥檚 Paralympic Qualifier at the Canada Games Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
READ MORE: 91原创 volleyball player comfortably stationed on her backside
鈥淚 think we came out, we followed our game plan and we were ready to compete; I鈥檓 just really proud of the team,鈥� said Canada鈥檚 head coach Nicole Ban. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all kind of real now!鈥�
Canada controlled the match early on, but Ukraine came back fighting and leading most of the third set. The Canadians kept their composure and tied it up late in the match to win 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-23). They finished with a 6-0 record at the tournament overall.
Ban continued: 鈥淚 think we鈥檝e come a long way; you can see it in our systems and our play. We鈥檝e really focused on serving and passing and again I鈥檓 proud of them.鈥�
Heidi Peters, who led the team in scoring with eight points, said: 鈥淲e have prepared so much for this, especially the last four months. We have a remarkable staff and athletes. I feel really good about my performance here, as well as the whole team鈥檚 effort.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge success to have a tournament on home soil, and we鈥檙e really grateful that Halifax was able to make that happen.鈥�
This will be the women鈥檚 sitting team鈥檚 second appearance in the Paralympic Games 鈥� the team finished seventh in 2016 in Rio. Ukraine was fourth in Rio.
Earlier, Slovenia beat Germany in five sets to claim bronze. Only the winner (Canada) earned the Tokyo berth.
READ MORE: Ellis making most of second chance
Ellis was less than two months old when doctors had to amputate her right leg below the knee after she was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of either soft tissue, connective tissue or bone.
www.facebook.com
