Girls Volleyball: Chicago Christian rolls past Noble Street

Updated: November 3, 2011 10:09PM

This time Chicago Christian did not underestimate its opponent.

Two nights after having to rally from deficits in both sets to defeat Gordon Tech, host Chicago Christian roared out of the gate against Noble Street Charter Thursday and easily won its own sectional 25-11, 25-8.

It was the third straight sectional title for the defending Class 2A champion Knights (21-18), who will face Timothy Christian in Saturday’s Lisle Supersectional.

“We definitely came out harder, ready to play this game, not underestimating them at all,” Chicago Christian senior Becky DeRuiter said. “We’ve had better [games], but I think we played a lot better than we did Tuesday night. We were ready to win this sectional title.”

That was evident from the outset, as the 6-1 DeRuiter pounded four of her match-high 11 kills during an opening 10-2 run. DeRuiter, an Olivet Nazarene recruit, had the first kill of the night as well as the last, which came on match point and was a fitting finish to her final appearance on her home court.

“I wanted to get those subs in but I’m glad [Chicago Christian coach James Garcia] put them in for the other girls so I had my last senior time to play here on the court,” DeRuiter said.

Noble Street (22-4), which was making its first appearance in a sectional final, had one brief run in the opening set, scoring five straight points, including four on libero Angelica Solano’s serve, to pull within 10-7.

But all of those points came on Chicago Christian errors, as did all but two of the Golden Tigers’ scores. Joe Alexia and Vanessa Candelario had the only kills for Noble Street, which had a serious height and experience disadvantage.

“We have a different situation school-wise from most schools,” said Noble Street coach Stanley Antoine, who does not have any club players. “We don’t have our own gym, we don’t have many balls. We have to practice early in the morning.

“We’re getting there. All the hard work paid off. It’s a pleasure and an honor to coach these types of girls.”

Junior Emily Lindenmulder spiked six kills and served seven points for Chicago Christian, which also received 23 assists from sophomore setter Emily Workman. The Knights had 12 aces, including four from Workman and three from Lindenmulder and junior Sami Bruinius, who served the final six points of the match.

Chicago Christian, which has only three seniors, is only three wins away from another state championship. Their record isn’t impressive, but that’s because the Knights have played a strong schedule that includes losses to five ranked 3A and 4A opponents.

“I think [winning state] is possible,” DeRuiter said. “We definitely have the talent and the power. We just need to be sure to come out and play our ‘A’ game.”

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