Sophomore Kate Vogelzang sparks Timothy Christian past Latin for first trip to state since 2015

ELMHURST – At the halfway point of the second set in the Class 2A supersectional, Timothy Christian needed a spark Monday.

Sophomore Kate Vogelzang provided one and it ignited a flame that sent the Trojans to a big win.

Timothy Christian, playing on its home court, had survived a scare from opponent Latin to win the first set.

In the second set, Timothy Christian again fell behind the Romans.

Enter Vogelzang.

The super sub came into the set at the service line and promptly served two consecutive aces to give her team the lead.

The Trojans went on to a 25-23, 25-23 victory.

Timothy Christian will face Bloomington Central Catholic at noon Friday in the state semifinals at CEFCU Arena in Normal.

“I was really nervous,” Vogelzang said of her moment in the spotlight. “But these girls are amazing and I love them so much. I knew I had to do it for them and luckily I did.”

Timothy Christian coach Scott Piersma had nothing but praise for his defensive specialist.

“That was a tough spot for Kate to be in,” Piersma said. “That’s a mentally tough player to do what she did in that situation.”

The win earned the Trojans their first state appearance since 2015, when they finished third.

It will be the first trip to the state finals for Timothy Christian star outside hitter Abby VanderWal, a Texas recruit. The senior led the team Monday with 15 kills.

“This is incredible,” VanderWal said. “There are no words to describe it. Our girls have worked so hard and we can’t wait to get down to Bloomington.”

“This is her fourth year and she deserves this,” Piersma said. “Not only because of her talent, but also what she means to the program and all the other girls.”

Timothy Christian trailed Latin in the first set by five points when it took a much-needed timeout.

“We just took a big step back,” VanderWal said. “A big breather and regrouped. After that, we started playing our game. We got more comfortable and made fewer errors and that’s what led us to the win.”

The Trojans rebounded to win the first set and rallied to take the lead in the second set on the two aces by Vogelzang, the only Trojans aces in the match.

Latin came back to tie the second set, but a dig from senior Miriam Pozdol-Niego, a set by Elizabeth Alex and a kill by VanderWal put the game in the win column for Timothy Christian.

“I’ll never forget that moment,” VanderWal said of the match-winner. “There’s no word to describe it except amazing. It’s all I ever dreamed of.”

Pozdol-Niego finished with 11 digs. Alex pitched in with 24 assists.

Alex said that despite the Trojans falling behind in each set, she wasn’t worried.

“With all of the hard work we put in, I knew we were going to be OK,” she said. “We’ve been in situations like this before and we work on it in practice all the time. Our motivation today was to go downstate. We’ve talked about it all season long and to actually be able to do it is amazing.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241111/girls-volleyball/girls-volleyball-vogelzang-timothy-christian-ace-supersectional-test/