Warriors take 2nd at PSL
The Wheaton Academy girls volleyball squad came into Saturday's Private School League Tournament with its pair of senior outside hitters at less than 100 percent physically.
Wheaton Academy coach D.A. Nichols said Maggie Johnson, whose hip and knee have been giving her trouble, was at 75 percent, while her partner on the outside, Shelby Vischer, was slowed by an infection.
Yet in their fifth match of a long day, there was Johnson, Vischer and the rest of the Warriors slugging it out with PSL regular-season champion Chicago Christian in the title match.
In the end Wheaton Academy's execution fell just short, even if its effort didn't, as Chicago Christian pulled out an 18-25, 25-19, 26-24 victory at Aurora Christian.
"I think it could have gone either way," Nichols said. "We were pretty even."
"Our team has a lot of heart no matter what," Johnson said. "You can throw pretty much anything at our team and we'll be like, 'All right, let's do this.' "
Johnson led her team with 16 kills and Vischer finished with 14.
Chicago Christian (29-3) edged the Warriors (23-12) with their sister act in the middle. Junior Lizzie Kamp landed a match-high 17 kills and her senior sister, Rebecca, added 15 while at times facing a triple block.
Together, the Kamps put down 17 kills in the third game with Lizzie totaling 11 of them.
"They're a dominating force," Knights coach Leah Bruskewitz said. "They both really show up with an 'A' game every single time we play."
The third-seeded Warriors earned a spot in the final by tipping No. 2 seed Illiana Christian 26-27, 25-13, 25-19 in pool play. Johnson registered 17 kills and 10 aces. Her serving in Game 2 turned the momentum of the match to her team's side.
"She got into a rhythm and she just took over," Nichols said.
Fourth-seeded Timothy Christian (12-22) rallied to knock off Illiana Christian 17-25, 25-22, 25-21 in the third-place contest. Senior outside hitter Lindsay Vander Brug carried the Trojans with 12 kills.
Said Timothy Christian coach Melanie Lumkes: "I've been telling the girls all along, 'Don't worry. We're going to take our lumps. Let's just continue to improve.' So I think this is validation for them to see that we are improving even though our record is not real good."