Ignore Erin Bruce’s right pinkie, which Dundee-Crown ’s 6-foot sophomore says sticks out ever since she broke it playing volleyball in early summer.

She tapes the little finger for matches so she won’t re-injure it.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Bruce said. “It’s just crooked.”

As Bruce’s pinkie has improved, coincidentally, so has her topspin jump serve, which is becoming another weapon in her arsenal to complement her powerful right arm.

Thursday night, Bruce put up – to borrow a baseball term – a crooked number. Her three aces, all during a 13-point serving run in the opening set, jumpstarted Dundee-Crown to a 25-8, 25-18 win over visiting Jacobs in a Fox Valley Conference match.

Besides her pinkie, Bruce’s five kills and 15 digs also stuck out.

Fellow sophomores Tori Brents and Kate Gra

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