Montini keeps it going against Timothy Christian
The most successful Montini girls volleyball season got another extension Thursday with a 17-25, 25-22, 25-22 victory over Timothy Christian at the Class 3A Nazareth sectional final.
There were crucial moments in Game 2 that were the difference between the fifth-seeded Broncos (22-11) looking for the key to the equipment room to put the uniforms away for the season and facing Tinley Park at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Tinley Park supersectional.
The game was tied at 15. Timothy Christian, the sectional's top seed, took over serving and Julia Stremler came through with a kill. Then a kill attempt by Montini was ruled out of bounds. The Broncos argued that it went off a Timothy Christian player.
There had been a couple of close calls earlier. Coach Steve Dowjotas made his case on this most recent one and received a yellow card. Then the Broncos were called for hitting the ball more than three times and the Trojans (36-3) led 18-15. Dowjotas called a timeout.
Upon the teams returning to the court, Timothy Christian committed a hitting error to make it 18-16, and Montini got the ball back with Monica Loftus serving. Two kills by Mary Bowe, who had 9 kills, and another Timothy Christian hitting error gave the Broncos a 19-18 lead and badly needed momentum. Game 2 was tied twice more, but Montini closed the game on a 5-2 run to prevail.
"I got the yellow card and I deserved it. But I was backing my team up and sometimes that works. And they then backed me up," Dowjotas said.
A good portion of the third and deciding game saw the teams score 1 to 2 points at a time before the other squad got the ball back.
That changed when Loftus, who also had 9 kills, smashed one of them with Jennifer Marten connecting on an ace and the Trojans being called for a double hit to make it 14-8 Montini. Soon after, the Broncos were up 16-9.
Timothy Christian wasn't going to go away easily. An 8-1 run was capped by a Kacie Stoll kill, who led her team with 11, and the Trojans had tied the match at 17.
Montini's lead went back up to 24-18. The Trojans cut it to 24-22 before a serving error gave the Broncos the game and the match.
"We knew we would come together and we knew we could get that one more point and get the win," Bowe said.
The opening game saw Timothy Christian lead the entire time with 2 aces by Dani VanLaten and a block by Stoll giving their team the last three points they needed for the 8-point victory.
"The first game we were not there. In the second and third games we hit better, blocked better. In the first game we were scared in serving and Timothy Christian played extremely well the first game," Dowjotas said.
Timothy Christian ends its most successful girls volleyball season in school history.
"The first set was the best we blocked all year. We kept the balls on their side," said Trojan coach Scott Piersma. "In Sets 2 and 3, we didn't have it. There weren't many blocks on our end.
"We were 36-3. The three losses were against very good teams. When tough teams came, we were ready. There were eight seniors on this year's team and we will miss them."
Montini's next opponent, Tinley Park, beat Chicago Christian 25-17, 25-23 at the Illiana Christian sectional final.
"This is unbelievable. It's everything that we've worked for," Marten said. "Even if we are down in the score, we are never down on the court. Everyone gives all their best."