NORMAL — Ellie Blotnik knows when she’s on.
As Joliet Catholic drew nearer to a win Saturday afternoon in the third game against Taylorville, the sophomore outside hitter took her case to junior setter Jessica Horn.
“I kept telling her, ‘Set me line, Jess, set me line,'” Blotnik said. “And then at the end, I was just like, ‘Keep feeding me.’ We used so much momentum and energy to keep in those long rallies, and I told her to keep it coming.
“I don’t know. I was tired. Everyone was tired.”
Everyone was smiling for the Angels after they came away with a 19-25, 25-21, 25-17 victory in the Class 3A third-place match at Illinois State’s Redbird Arena.
Carthage recruit Ava Neuschwander paced Joliet Catholic (24-18) with 12 kills. Blotnik added nine kills, seven digs and three aces. Olivia Chovanec had nine kills and 10 digs, while Allie Wuestenfeld made 25 digs and Horn had 33 assists.
Elle Richards led Taylorville (30-11-1) with 11 kills. Sophie Mizeur made 19 digs and had 22 assists.
Horn definitely got Blotnik’s message, delivering the ball three straight times during one rally late in the third game.
It ended with Blotnik putting down the ball for her final kill of the match.
But Blotnik did more than just that. She kept Taylorville out of system with some wicked serving. She had two service runs for four points and another for five. She also had 11 good serve receives.
She was a real difference-maker, getting the Angels close in the first game and into the lead after an early deficit in the second game.
“My goal was to start a fire under us,” Blotnik said. “I knew someone needed to start something. I was sick of losing points.
“It stinks being down. It’s always nice when you have a little more of a comfort, almost like a pillow underneath you when you’re up. I think everybody was sick of being down.”
Blotnik finished the season as the second-leading hitter on the team behind Chovanec. The sophomore duo have played together since grammar school, and as freshmen came up to the varsity for the state playoffs.
“It’s been fun to watch Ellie’s confidence grow so much,” Chovanec said. “As a player, she has come so far. I just feel honored to play with her and have her as my teammate.
“She’s so supportive in anything I do. I’m just going to do it back for her.”
Chovanec also made an impact against Taylorville.
In the third game, she had two kills as the Angels turned a 9-9 tie into a 16-10 lead. She had one of the digs of the match, sliding on her belly to bring a ball up right at net.
Big-time plays on a big-time stage for two building blocks Joliet Catholic coach Kisha Cameron will have for the next two years.
“Oh, absolutely,” Cameron said. “They were well-trained from Sports Performance. They’re coachable, they listen, and most of the time they do what I ask them to do.
“They stepped up big. I’m proud of these girls, for sure. I’m proud of the whole team. But these girls are special because this was their first trip to state when they were on the floor. We needed them to rise, and they rose.”
The win broke a four-match losing streak at state going back to 2019 and three straight since last year, a first for the program.
“We didn’t want to finish like last season, we wanted to build on it,” Blotnik said. “Being down here and being so young, for me and Olivia, we’ve been very fortunate for it.
“I think it’s just an incredible experience to lead up to the next two years.”
