Timothy Christian’s winning streak ends at 38 with loss to Bloomington Central Catholic in Class 2A semifinal

NORMAL — Timothy Christian came into the Class 2A state semifinals as winners of its last 38 matches.

Unfortunately, the winning streak couldn’t help the Trojans reach the state finals.

[ Photos: Timothy Christian vs. Bloomington Central Catholic ]

The Trojans saw their win streak get snapped as they lost 25-21, 25-16 in the state semifinals to Bloomington Central Catholic on Friday at CEFCU Arena.

“It was disappointing to see that the streak ended at 38 in a row,” Trojans coach Scott Piersma said. “We’re hoping for a good outcome to finish the season, but hats off to Bloomington Central Catholic. They got us back on our heels a little bit, which teams have not done this year.”

The Trojans (38-3) will play in the third-place match Saturday, where they’ll face El Paso-Gridley (31-8), who lost to Mater Dei in straight sets in their semifinal. A win would match Timothy Christian’s best finish at state in program history, with the Trojans also finishing third back in 2015.

“We just really need to dial in on certain points and just keep playing for each other,” senior outside hitter Abby VanderWal. “We had a couple grooves we got stuck in, but we fought through them. And I think that’s the difference is just getting out of those grooves as soon as possible.”

The Saints went on five separate runs of scoring four or more consecutive points, including the final four points in the first set, as well as a 7-1 run to bring the second set to match point. Part of the reason was Saints excelling with their serves, as they finished with seven aces in the match.

“We just struggled to receive their serve and getting in system,” Piersma said. “They knew where the ball is going to go. If we’re out of system off that pass and they can set up their defense, even before we swing on the ball, it makes it very tough. And when we got in a funk, it was tough to get out of.”

Timothy Christian did manage to go on a run of its own in the second set. After subbing out senior libero Miriam Pozdol-Niegro during the Saints’ final streak, Piersma put the libero back in to serve while down 24-10. The senior went on to lead the Trojans to six straight points before the Saints got the final point.

“Kudos to Miriam, those were great serves to finish it off,” Piersma said. “I wanted to get to 13 so at least we weren’t doubled up, but the girls fought all the way through and kept playing hard. And for Miriam to do that, to go back into the serve and put those solid serves into play, that’s a mentally tough player, to be able to go back and do that again.”

The Trojans also had trouble dealing with the Saints’ outside hitters. Piersma said he wanted to focus on junior middle Rosie Krenz, but doing so allowed for sophomore Kampbell Niepagen to go for 13 kills in the match to lead the Saints.

“When our middles were concerned with (Krenz) and were a little late getting outside, when you give Kampbell space and a choice of where to hit, it’s going to be hard to pick up,” Piersma said. “We tried telling the ladies to hedge outside. But even still, with the speed and height that she’s at, she’s getting them through quickly, it’s tough to lineup and be ready for.”

VanderWal, a Texas commit, led the way for the Trojans with nine kills in the match.

“I was just trying to do what was best for my team,” VanderWal said. “I was just going after hands, trying to hit my flat. They had a very good defense in the sound block, so I really had to switch up my shot. Their defense just shut us down.”