NORMAL, Ill. • Breese Central's inability to hit through a tall Chicago Christian block proved to be the Cougars' undoing Friday in the semifinals of the Class 2A state volleyball tournament at Redbird Arena.
Becky DeRuiter, a 6-foot-1 middle blocker, had five of Christian's 10 blocks to help the defending state champions to a 25-23, 25-12 win.
Christian improved to 23-19 and will take on Quincy Notre Dame (28-9) in the finals at 1:55 p.m. Saturday. Central, which finished second last year, fell to 32-9. It will battle with Decatur St. Teresa (35-4) in the third-place match at 12:25 p.m.
"We have had trouble with that before when teams are bigger than us," said Central coach Jim Cook, whose team lost to Christian 21-25, 25-14, 25-22 in the 2A finals last year. "We haven't been able to get started with our hitting, and hitting usually takes us through our games.
"They were just very overpowering ... and they showed that in the second game when we weren't getting anything done."
But it was the first game that was pivotal. In that one, Central held leads of 12-7 and 22-20 but couldn't seal the deal.
Maddie Timmermann had given the Cougars their biggest lead of
Game 1 at 12-7 with one of her team-best six kills (she ended with a match-high of nine).
But the Knights rallied right back to even the score at 12 on a kill by Emily Lindemulder, who had eight for the match.
The match ping-ponged until Central moved ahead 22-20 on an unforced error by the Knights, who had 11 in the game and 17 for the match.
But Christian scored five of the final six points to win the first game. Lindemulder had three kills during the run.
"I think it was the first game that got us," said Central outside hitter Taylor Voss. "It was the first game that put us down. We were there. We were close, but I don't think we pulled back together for that second game."
Christian's size was the difference throughout.
"Their hitters were really good, but our block was so much better," said Maggie Kamp, Christian's 6-2 outside hitter. "I don't think they've seen that big of a block before. Being in the back row, all you had to dig up was a lucky hit or a ball off the block."
In Game 2, it was obvious from the outset Central was going to play for third place. The Cougars fell behind quickly due to an eight-point run that extended a 5-3 advantage to 13-3. Strong serving by Kamp was crucial. She served seven of the eight points.
"A team like this, you've really got to push at 'em," Cook said. "You can't give 'em any balls. You're going to pay for it. We wanted to keep the ball in play. But give them credit. They're that good. They played the shots when they had to."
