When Timothy Christian’s Abby Vander Wal returned to her Elmhurst home in late August after being away for more than a month, the family member she was most pleased to see was her younger brother Jake.
“He was so excited,” Vander Wal said. “He definitely missed seeing me every day. He did not leave my side for like an hour. It was really cute.”
Jake, who is in seventh grade, was born with Down syndrome and is nonverbal. Vander Wal said they are extremely close.
“Jake is one my favorite humans in the world,” she said. “He understands me. He just can’t say what he wants. So I learned sign language growing up. I’d go to his speech therapy sessions, and I always thought it was so cool.”
There was much for Vander Wal to tell Jake and the rest of her family during that homecoming. The 6-foot-3 junior outside hitter was one of 12 players chosen to represent the United States at the FIVB U19 World Championship tournament in Croatia and the U21 tournament in Mexico.
Despite being the youngest player on the team, the 16-year-old Vander Wal led the U.S. to the U19 championship, spiking 15 kills in a 20-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-16, 15-10 victory against Turkey in the match for gold on Aug. 11. She was named MVP of the tournament.
From there, Vander Wal helped the U21 team finish sixth. What made it even better was playing with her friend, IC Catholic senior Ava Falduto, who was the team’s libero.
“It was a whirlwind of a summer,” Vander Wal said. “It was a surreal moment just being chosen to go to Croatia and Mexico. Getting to do the whole experience with Ava made it all so much better.”
Timothy Christian coach Scott Piersma said the Trojans also had a surreal feeling.
“That’s quite a summer to have, especially at 16,” Piersma said. “Watching her perform at that level was a crazy thing to see. We actually watched the championship game of the U19 as a team on YouTube.”
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The Trojans watched the ensuing awards ceremony too.
“They started naming these awards,” Piersma said. “Abby goes up and collects one. The girls are like, ‘Oh, that’s amazing, Best Outside Hitter.’ Then she goes up again for MVP. Imagine being voted the best player of that tournament in the world at 16 years old.”
Vander Wal, who has committed to play at defending national champion Texas, never imagined it.
“It was totally amazing seeing the high level these girls were playing at,” Vander Wal said. “It was a level I had never seen before, and we’re playing these teams like Turkey and Brazil and Italy, these countries I had never been to.
“It doesn’t really feel like it happened. It felt like a dream.”
Vander Wal comes from an athletic family. Her parents, Steve and Kristi, played baseball and basketball, respectively, at Taylor University, and her brother Ben plays basketball at Furman.
Vander Wal’s uncle Jack LeGrand is the athletic director at Timothy Christian, where several of her cousins have played sports. One cousin, Rachel Stoll, played on the girls volleyball team that finished third in Class 2A in 2015. Vander Wal, who had just begun playing volleyball at the time, was in attendance at Redbird Arena that year.
“If I get to go back there now or next season, it would be totally like a full-circle moment,” she said.
The Trojans came close to going to state last season, when Vander Wal had 440 kills on a .441 hitting percentage, 276 digs, 52 aces and 31 blocks for a team that lost to IC Catholic in a sectional final and went 31-8. Most of the core players returned, including sophomore outside hitter Bella Potempa, senior outside/right-side hitter Hope Huizenga, senior libero Clare McQuade and senior middle Addy Vogelzang.
The Trojans (19-5) had won four straight matches through the weekend. Vander Wal, who missed 10 matches with an injury, had 107 kills on a .517 hitting percentage.
“Coming up short last year and losing to IC was tough,” Vander Wal said. “This team feels different. I can tell we have a different type of vibe going. We’ve definitely got a little chip on our shoulders to win and go down to Redbird.”
Despite Vander Wal’s international success, her commitment to Texas and talk of a possible professional career, she remains focused on the Trojans. Sometimes it’s hard to remember she still has another high school season left.
“When she committed to Texas, my wife was like, ‘We should find a time that we can go to Austin and see her,'” Piersma said. “I was like, ‘Dear, that’s still three falls away.’ She still has a couple with us.”
Which means more opportunities for Jake to watch her sister play.
“She is so great with Jake,” Piersma said. “It’s fun to watch those two together because they do get along so well and, yes, communicate so well.”
Jake has inspired Vander Wal to pursue speech pathology as a career, she said.
“That is definitely a passion of mine,” she said. “It’s been a wild ride, for sure, with Jake. Lots of ups, lots of downs, but I think overall I’ve learned so much.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.