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Chicago Christian makes every point count
Updated: September 7, 2011 8:58PM
A total of 28 kills, 18 digs, 11 aces and eight blocks were worth one victory for Chicago Christian on Wednesday.
For Katie Vree and a community that is embracing the cause to help her gain a huge victory over adversity, they were worth a fortune.
“We were all here for Katie. We wanted to play our hearts out for her,” senior Maggie Kamp said after the 25-16, 25-18 Suburban Christian Blue victory over Aurora Central Catholic.
Vree, a junior, has been hospitalized since early June, when she was stricken with a virus that damaged her spine and caused her to be paralyzed from the neck down. In the months that have followed, she has regained movement in both of her arms.
She attended Wednesday’s “Fear Not — 365” fundraiser in a wheelchair, met with the team before the match and received a long, standing ovation when she wheeled her chair out to her teammates during prematch introductions.
“This is really great. I love coming back,” Vree said while surrounded by teammates outside the gym before warm-ups. “I hope they have a really, really good season.”
Becky DeRuiter (eight kills, four blocks), Jessica Krygsheld (eight kills, three aces), Emily Lindemulder (six kills, three blocks), Kamp (six kills), Celaine Haan (14 digs) and Emily Workman (28 assists) all were major contributors as the Knights improved to 8-2 overall, 1-1 in conference.
Chicago Christian trailed only twice, 1-0 in both games. For the most part, the Knights were crisp, their big girls (6-foot-2 Kamp, 6-2 DeRuiter and 5-11 Lindemulder) dominating at the net thanks to accurate quick sets by Workman.
At the end of the match, athletic director Eric Brauer announced that donations to help fund Vree’s recovery had reached $41,000. Among the donations was sponsorship money for every kill, block, ace, dig and point by both teams.
“Some people even did $5 per point,” DeRuiter said. “So this was a big fundraiser. We were just glad to come out and play for her.”
They had inspiration.
“Katie said (before the match) that she hoped none of us have our voices left after the game because she wants us cheering that loud,” Haan said. “It was a successful game, and we’re happy we came out on top. But the real reason for playing was for Katie and raising money for her.”
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