NORMAL โ Timothy Christian libero Miriam Pozdol-Niego follows the same game plan whenever she gets the ball to serve.
As soon as the ball gets into her hands, the senior jogs all the way back, as far as she can, and looks back to the court and then to the bench where her sister, Ria Pozdol-Niego, sits.
With the Trojans already up a set and leading 22-15 in the second set over El Paso-Gridley in the Class 2A third-place match at Illinois Stateโs CEFCU Arena, Miriam Pozdol-Niego made sure to keep the same routine to end her high school career.
She jogged back, turned to the court and served the ball.
And each time, it resulted in an ace.
โI just knew that this was it. I had nothing left to lose,โ Miriam Pozdol-Niego said. โThose were my last three serves. I donโt even remember them.โ
The aces were the finishing touch that Timothy Christian needed to earn third place in Class 2A with a straight-set 25-20, 25-15 victory over El Paso.
The win marked the end of a historic season for the Trojans, who finished with a program-best 39 wins, including 38 in a row. The third-place finish at state tied for the best in program history. Timothy Christian also placed third in 2015.
โWe had our struggles Friday, but the girls came ready to play and put it all out there. They knew it was the last one, but they did it for each other, too,โ Timothy Christian coach Scott Piersma said. โWeโre happy to leave with a win. It may not have been the one they wanted when they first came down here, but itโs still a win.โ
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After suffering their first loss since Aug. 28 in the state semifinals, Piersma said he reminded the Trojans they can finish the season the right way โ in the win column. And of all things, the time of Fridayโs match helped his team calm its nerves and refocus on getting a win.
โPlaying at noon is such a weird time,โ Piersma said. โBut we were talking with the coaches, and at the same time, you are not going to bed angry. You have time to decompress. You have time to think and reflect and let it go and refocus for the next match.โ
That refocusing was evident by the Trojansโ net play against the Titans. After struggling to get its attackers working against Bloomington Central Catholic, Timothy Christian wasted no time getting senior outside hitter Abby VanderWal started.
The Texas commit put away the first set by putting down the hammer for four of the Trojansโ final five points. VanderWal finished her high school career with a 12-kill performance to lead the way.
โTimothy is like my home and these last four years have been so special to me in so many ways,โ VanderWal said. โI couldnโt be more grateful for coach Piersma and the assistant coaches for always encouraging me in my volleyball journey.โ
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The Trojans then turned to junior outside hitter Bella Potempa (eight kills) and junior middle Ella Rickert (seven kills). Piersma said after struggling to find balance in the semifinals, he wanted the team to make the most out of its size advantage over the Titans.
โOur middles struggled to get going in the semifinals just because we couldnโt get the ball where we wanted off the pass, which was frustrating for them,โ Piersma said. โBut we told them, if we get that ball, go in and weโll get you the ball because weโll be able to take advantage of our size in the middle โ or even moving our outsides around and bringing them in the middle to get them on a little bit of smaller hands.โ
Piersma said heโs excited to run it back next season, even with four seniors graduating, including VanderWal.
โWe had our streak stopped in the semifinals, but here you go ladies,โ Piersma said in addressing the team. โThis is win No. 1 of the new streak. Weโll keep it going next year.โ