KEEPING IT 1,000
Having just reached a major milestone, Logan Grevengoed leads Chicago Christian’s fun bunch to state
This weekend, Chicago Christian will be playing at Redbird Arena in the Class 2A girls volleyball state finals. The Knights are there for the first time since 2011.
I visited Monday with coach Karen Van Assen to get the lowdown. She rattled off several great stories about her team.
Today, I’ll tell you the most fun one.
I’m calling it, “How a sectional final turned into a surprise party.”
The surprise was for Chicago Christian senior Logan Grevengoed.
The Western Kentucky commit
went into the sectional final against Beecher needing 11 kills to reach 1,000 for her career. Obviously, doing it during her last home match would be pretty special.
Everybody in the building was filled with anticipation — except Logan.
“I knew it was coming up, but I wasn’t aware of how many I had left,” Grevengoed said. “I wasn’t keeping track.”
After a 25-19 win in Game 1, the 6-foot-3 outside hitter was sitting at just four kills. Her little sister Delanie, a 6-2 junior, was doing most of the hitting and had eight.
Logan rallied in Game 2 but was still one shy on her last rotation in the front row when Keely Colyer set her three consecutive times.
No dice.
“I was like, ‘This is really
weird,’ ” Grevengoed said. “Then when I got to the back row and everyone was like, ‘Oh, shoot.’ I couldn’t really figure out why.”
You think that was weird? How about what happened after she missed her serve?
“Everybody was all excited about it,” Grevengoed said, laughing. “I was like, ‘Why would they be excited about that?’ Apparently, they wanted me to hit from the back row.”
With the Knights at 21 points, Colyer set the ball back to Grevengoed, who put it down.
When everyone started cheering and the parents stood up, the light finally went on.
“It took me a second, but then I saw the 1,000-kill posters,” Grevengoed said. “Then a bunch of the freshman guys pulled off their sweatshirts and they had T-shirts with 1,000 on them.
“It was really cool, especially since it wasn’t just parents. It was the students. That the freshman boys would do that was super sweet.”
Grevengoed finished with 12 kills in the 25-19, 25-13 victory. She had seven more kills Friday as the Knights beat Illinois Valley Central 25-20, 25-18 in the Herscher Supersectional.
Back to this weekend. She will be playing with her sister at Redbird Arena in their final two matches together.
“To be honest, I’m trying not to think about it,” Logan said. “It’s bittersweet. I’m going to miss it a lot playing with Delanie, but I’m excited about playing in college. I know there are more good things ahead.”
Logan is leaving quite a legacy. In her freshman season, she was a solid contributor. She was the conference player of the year as a sophomore.
“When Logan came out as a freshman, you always worry about their maturity,” Van Assen said. “Can they fit in with the older girls? But I called her dad and he said, ‘No problem. She can do it.’
“Logan has made a concentrated effort to focus on the team and getting our wins. She doesn’t worry about individual goals.”
The Grevengoed sisters pack among the Southland’s most powerful one-two hitting punches. For the season, Logan has 443 kills, while Delanie has 290. Logan also leads the team with 78 blocks and 57 aces.
They both play all six rotations. One of them is always in the front row. It has made Chicago Chris
tian (34-5) difficult to stop.
“It’s pretty sweet,” Delanie said. “But it’s nice to have a supporting group behind us. We have grown really tight. We trust each other way more than at the beginning of the season.
“These past two weeks we’re understanding our limits and how we can push past them.”
Senior Olivia Inglese, a fouryear varsity player, has been a libero for the last two. She has a team-leading 267 digs.
Colyer, a 6-foot junior, is a hitter at heart but stepped up when the Knights needed a setter. She has 788 assists.
Sophomore outside Nikki Swiney has 85 kills, 40 aces and 25 blocks — the perfect complement to the Grevengoeds.
Yep, add it up and Chicago Christian is just one fun story after another.
“We have a successful setter, a successful defense, successful passers, successful servers,” Logan said. “We have people around us who make us better.”
And they’re ready for a state championship.