Bri "Pirate" Young sang the national anthem before skating in her first bout since a brutal attack in June. Photo by Ralph Fountain.

The bout against the Angel City Derby Girls of Los Angeles was the second of the season for the Sin City Rollergirls but it was the most important one of the year for team member Bri "Pirate" Young.

That's because it was the 22-year-old's first roller derby match after a violent attack that left her with a shattered cheekbone, a fractured orbit, a bruised body and nearly $300,000 in medical bills. And Young, a roller girl since November 2005, has no medical insurance.

"I'm just excited. You have no idea," she said, as she prepared her skates for the night.

It is something of a miracle that she's back and ready to skate after being attacked by three men in June, said Sin City Rollergirls co-captain Trish Ethier. It seems improbable that she can be just three months after undergoing two major surgeries in which four metal plates were attached to her face and skull.

But, were it not for skating, and especially her roller girl sisters, her recovery would have taken much longer, Young said.

"I've been focusing on the girls," she said. "It completes my day to know I can skate again. The exercise is great, the traveling is great but it's the sisterhood, the camaraderie, that I love."

Young was attacked as she left a local bar about 4 a.m., where she had been handing out free cigarettes to pay for her tattoo apprenticeship.

She was giving a ride to an acquaintance who'd had too much to drink. As they made their way to her car, she saw three men yelling and fighting. Her companion started yelling back and that attracted their attention, Young recalled.

Before she could get the car started, the men descended on the vehicle and began hitting her friend.

"I got out of the car to tell them to leave us alone, we hadn't done anything," Young said.

But they didn't listen, she added, and one of the men wrapped a beer bottle in a sweat shirt and hit her in the face with it. She fell to the ground, where they kicked and beat her.

"I don't remember falling. I don't remember them kicking me. I remember them running away from me," she said.

The attack occurred the morning of a scheduled roller derby bout and, once her teammates heard the news, they sprang into action.

The bout became a fundraiser for Young's medical bills. Subsequent fundraisers took place and roller girls from across the country got involved. To date, Young's skate friends have raised more than $10,000 for her.

"If I didn't have the help from them, I wouldn't be doing as well as I am. I'm forever grateful for everybody's help," Young said. The attack "was kind of like a blessing in disguise. Before that, I was kind of depressed. I knew I had a pretty good circle of friends, I just didn't know how much they cared about me."