Benet defense dispatches Naperville North
Benet did all it could to keep the Naperville North attack attempts off the floor, and the defensive effort paid off.
The Redwings totaled 35 digs, including a game-high 12 from Caroline Wolf, leading to a 25-21, 25-13 victory over Naperville North to win the Plainfield South girls volleyball sectional title Thursday evening.
“We work on it a lot and you hope that it comes through in big matches,” Benet coach Brad Baker said of his team’s defense. “We understand the importance of first contact and controlling the ball. If you can stop people from scoring and you’re able to score points on your own, it’s a huge advantage.”
Benet (34-5) moves onto the Normal supersectional where it will face Normal at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Naperville North finishes the season at 34-5, including an undefeated mark in the DuPage Valley Conference.
“We missed six serves in the first game and that was tough because I thought we played pretty well despite the serving errors,” Naperville North coach Jennifer Urban said. “We just couldn’t put together some 2- and 3-point runs, and in the second game (Benet) played lights out. They found every opening on our court and exposed our weaknesses.
“But I’m really proud of this group,” Urban added. “From Day 1 we knew it was going to be a great group because of our depth. We have a lot to be proud of this season.”
Benet held a 23-16 lead in Game 1, but the Huskies made a late push, beginning with the third of Lexi Turek’s 6 kills on the night. Megan Wernette followed with an ace and then Turek and Angela Jurek tallied blocks assists to cut the lead to 23-19.
Benet’s Dana Griffin ended the run when her attack attempt slipped through the fingertips of Jurek as she attempted a block, making the score 24-19.
Two more Huskies points off a kill by Turek and an ace by Emily Kwak cut the Redwings lead to 24-21, but Stephanie Sinnapan set Griffin on a kill that earned Benet the game point. Sinnapan had 18 assists for the Redwings.
“We know it’s got to be a team effort and we need a balanced offense,” Baker said. “Stephanie (Sinnapan) knows that’s her job and she has confidence in everybody.”
Benet took command of the match with a 9-1 run in Game 2 that started with an ace by Sara Nielson.
Whitney Battoe helped turn a 13-7 lead into a 16-7 lead, tallying a block assist with Marija Cyvas, followed by a kill and a solo block.
Sinnapan played a part in the Redwings’ final two points of the match. She tallied a kill while faking a setting attempt and then set Griffin for the game point.
Griffin led the Redwings with 10 kills.