Benet dances away with title
Jenna Jendryk put up a block for match point, then made a beeline for the exit to change into her Homecoming dress.
Until then, the Benet senior's focus didn't stray to that night or painful memories from a night last November.
Tournament MVP Jendryk put down 9 kills with 2 aces and 2 blocks in the championship match, leading No. 2 Benet past No. 11 Hinsdale South 25-16, 25-22 to win Saturday's Wheaton Classic.
Benet (15-1) avenged a loss to Hinsdale South (10-5) in last year's sectional final. Jendryk played like she paid it no thought.
“I tried to avoid thinking about last year because they are bad memories and I wouldn't be able to play well tonight,” Jendryk said while wearing her sequined party dress. “I was just thinking that this was the championship match and I wanted to play well.”
Benet's balance at the net, with height and power few teams can match, was impressive. Maddie Haggerty and Nora Young had 5 kills against Hinsdale South, Meghan Haggerty 3 kills and 3 blocks and sophomore middle Brittany Pavich 3 kills and 2 blocks.
“All day long I thought we were balanced,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “Our goal is to get one-on-ones, and you do that spreading the ball.”
Benet rolled in the first set, a 5-0 run highlighted by a four-point Jendryk service-point run with 2 aces giving the Redwings a commanding 21-12 lead. A Maddie Haggerty kill, her third of the set and Benet's 13th, gave the Redwings set point.
To the surprise of no one, the second set was much tighter. Hinsdale South led 6-3 early and was within 12-10 after a dump kill by setter Sharon Anderson.
Benet led by as many as four points, the last 18-14 on a Jendryk kill off the block. Kills by Melissa Nava and Rachel Kent and a Benet hitting error pulled Hinsdale South within 18-17. Young answered for Benet with a kill and setter Hannah Kaminsky had a nifty redirect for a point. After a Kent kill Hinsdale South had a critical serve into the net and hitting error.
“You bury someone the first game, you have to make sure you come out that second game extra strong,” Baker said. “They're going to have some extra motivation. I thought our energy was good in the second game. We were able to maintain that after a long day.”
Jessica Brezwyn had 9 kills for Hinsdale South, which had reeled off seven straight wins leading up to the Benet match. Nava had 4 kills and 5 digs.
“We had too many unforced errors, and here's the thing — unforced errors are fixable,” Hinsdale South coach Lisa Martinez said. “Benet's always going to be bigger than us, they're always going to be more athletic than us, but if we eliminate some of the things we're doing it's going to be a different match if we play them again. They're a good team. But I don't think we played our best today.”
Benet's championship was its third in four years at Wheaton. Defending tournament champ Marist (9-1) was upset by Sandburg 25-20, 25-21 in the quarterfinals. Sandburg went on to top Hinsdale Central 25-20, 25-20 in the third-place match.
Marist beat Naperville North 26-24, 25-15 for fifth place, and Rosary beat Prairie Ridge 25-21, 25-20 in the seventh-place match.
Benet, which beat Naperville North 25-12, 25-23 and Hinsdale Central 25-19, 25-17 in earlier matches Saturday, has won eight straight and has dropped just one set in that stretch.
“I think as a team we played well tonight, and hopefully it continues,” Jendryk said. “As the season goes on we're getting better and better.”