Chicago Christian edges Timothy Christian
Timothy Christian made the most of its first girls volleyball supersectional Saturday night in Lisle, but the Trojans were unable to solve Chicago Christian.
The defending Class 2A champion turned back Timothy Christian 21-25, 25-14 and 25-21 to reach the state semifinals in Normal on Friday. Timothy had its season come to a close at 35-4.
On a night when underclassmen played pivotal roles, none was as luminous as Chicago Christian sophomore Emily Workman. The setter engineered the Knights’ offense with a team-high 16 assists while scorching Timothy with 6 aces on the service line.
“I think it was miscommunication between us,” Timothy senior captain Jordan Smits said of the Trojans’ difficulty in serve-receive in the second game. “Once (the Chicago Christian aces) started coming, we couldn’t come back from that.”
“(My service game) was just on today,” said Workman, who had all her aces in the first two games.
Jenna Lodewyk opened the decisive third game with one of her three aces to give Timothy first blood, but the teams went toe to toe over the first 20 points to forge the last of six ties at 10-10. Unfortunately for Timothy, Chicago Christian (22-18) mounted its most sustained third-game run, pulling ahead 19-14 on the 10-5 surge.
But Timothy did not quit, drawing within two points on three occasions down the stretch.
“We focused for Game 3 to make a match of it,” Timothy coach Lindsey Van Schepen said after Chicago Christian dominated the second game. “We dug ourselves a little hole (in the third game). The girls played really hard. They never gave up until the 25th point.”
After Timothy freshman Kacie Stoll had the last of her team-high 8 kills to bring the Trojans to within 23-21, Workman made the defining play of the match. The Knights’ sophomore standout went to the apex of her jumping ability to stone a Timothy kill attempt and give Chicago Christian a 3-point cushion with the resulting block.
“I really wasn’t expecting that,” Workman said. “I was just trying to get a touch on the ball for the defense to get it back up.”
The match ended on a Timothy hitting error. Timothy scored 8 of the first 10 points in the opening game and withstood three consecutive Workman aces to gain the early advantage.
Bridgitt Buikema augmented Stoll with 7 aces, while Smits’ career ended with 5 kills and 7 digs. Cassidy Block had a match-high 12 digs, and Lodewyk had 24 assists to lead both sides.