NORMAL — She laughed about it later, but Chicago Christian sophomore Nikki Swiney had a pretty rough start to her weekend.
For her, Friday was more like fright day.
“I was terrified,” Swiney said. “I was so scared. Eventually it went away, but I was terrified.”
In Saturday’s Class 2A third-place match against Breese Mater Dei, it was a different story.
“I wasn’t terrified this time,” Swiney said. “I was more excited than anything.”
Indeed, Swiney went from terrified to terrific in an impressive 25-16, 25-14 victory for the Knights.
The 5-foot-10 middle hitter had the first kill and the last kill of the match for Chicago Christian (35-7). She had just one serving error in 11 swings, with the Knights scoring points on all but one of her turns at the line.
Swiney finished with three kills, seven service points and two aces. Logan Grevengoed added eight kills and five digs, Delanie Grevengoed contributed seven kills and Keely Colyer had 13 assists.
Tori Mohesky led Mater Dei (34-7) with 11 kills. Annalyse Richter tallied 10 assists.
Swiney had much to do in helping the Knights rebound from Friday’s disappointing 25-17, 25-21 semifinal loss to Pleasant Plains.
Her first kill opened the door to a 5-0 start Saturday. Her ace serve was part of another three-point outburst that put Chicago Christian ahead 8-1.
Her spark definitely lit a fire among the other Knights and did justice to expectations by Chicago Christian coach Karen Van Assen.
“I wrote a note to every player when we got on the bus to come downstate,” Van Assen said. “I wrote to Nikki, ‘When I saw you on JV as a freshman, I knew you were going to be an impact player for us on varsity this season.’ I don’t know that she really believed that, but the rest of us did.
“And she really came a long way. She was going up and hitting the ball to the other team’s left back all the time, and at the end of the season, she is able to make the shots she wants to make. Without her, we wouldn’t be here.”
Swiney ended the season with 89 kills, 25 blocks and 42 aces. While Logan and Delanie Grevengoed were by far the hitting stars on the team, Swiney earned more sets from Colyer as the season progressed.
“Nikki has definitely come a long way,” Colyer said. “She was kind of scared when I’d set her at the beginning. But now she wants to get set and I can count on her to put the ball down.”
Saturday also brought a satisfying closure for Logan Grevengoed. The Western Kentucky recruit had a tough match Friday, never really finding her rhythm against Pleasant Plains.
But she brought it all against Mater Dei. Grevengoed had just one hitting error in 17 swings and also played some staunch defense.
“I thought about things a lot on Friday,” Grevengoed said. “I was just, ‘This is going to be your last game ever in high school. There is no reason to be nervous. There is absolutely no pressure at all.’
“I just wanted to perform well for my team and for my last high school match.”
The trophy is the fifth in program history and the first since 2011. The Knights finished fourth once, second twice and won the Class 2A title in 2010.
“I told the girls on Friday, ‘Only two teams get to finish with a win,'” Van Assen said. “We wanted that for us. We just don’t feel right when we’re on the other side.
“Friday, I think, was a learning experience. We didn’t do our best. But this time we went out there and I can say every single player did their best. To end on a high note is pretty special.”