Bloomington Central Catholic head coach Jenny Menendez made a fashion statement on Friday, donning a white t-shirt that simply said “Win”.
And her Saints made a statement on the court in their Class 2A State Semifinal, beating Elmhurst Timothy Christian 25-21, 25-16 to advance to Saturday’s state title game for the second championship berth in program history.
A 13-1 run in the second set filled with a litany of kills, aces and blocks felt sweet, just as much as winning in front of a large hometown crowd that only had to travel four miles from the school to CEFCU Arena in Normal.
“We’re so proud of them for making it and working so hard and we said at the end of the day, just all out effort to win and that's where it came from,” Menendez said of the shirt.
The Saints were led by a standout performance from outside hitter Kampbell Niepagen. The sophomore decimated the Trojans with big kills, discombobulated them with aces and helped lead a BCC front line that stymied Timothy Christian at the net all afternoon.