Benet tames St. Charles East again
To win a fourth straight sectional title, Benet needed its fourth win this year over St. Charles East.
The Redwings got it Thursday night in the Class 4A Bartlett sectional championship game. After a wild 29-27 win in the first set when Benet fought off two set points, the Redwings rolled to a 25-16 victory in the second set.
Benet (38-1) will play Mother McAuley at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Class 4A Hinsdale Central supersectional.
That's a state championship caliber match two rounds too early, which comes after the Redwings navigated their way through a deep sectional complex knocking out St. Charles North, Geneva and St. Charles East — three teams a combined 87-27, and 87-20 without their seven losses to Benet.
“It's not been easy,” said Benet's sophomore setter Sara Nielsen who directed the attack with 25 assists plus 9 digs. “We've had a lot of good opponents. So it feels really good.
“It's really hard to play that team. They are a really talented team and always do a great job.”
St. Charles East (30-9) overcame an early 10-3 deficit in the opening set with a 15-5 surge to take its biggest lead of the night, 18-15. The Saints had set points at 24-23 and 25-24.
But when Benet battled through both points and eventually won the set, the Redwings regained the momentum they never relinquished.
“We really wanted this game and I think we showed that in the last few points and rallies in the first set,” Nielsen said. “We just regrouped and refocused and went out and executed.”
A pair of kills from Veronica Snelling — who finished with a match-high 10 — and an ace from Natalie Canulli helped the Redwings open the early 7-point lead.
The Saints began their comeback on a back set from Megan Schildmeyer to Kyla Augustine. They pulled even at 14 when Augustine slammed an errant Redwings pass back down on Benet's side.
The teams traded the lead six times with 11 ties from there to the finish. Mikaela Mosquera's back-to-back blocks put the Saints ahead 20-19.
Dana Griffin, who finished with 5 kills and 10 digs, tipped for a winner that denied the Saints' first set point. St. Charles East was called for being in the net on its second set point.
Tiffany Clark on the outside and Rachael Fara in the middle put away several shots on key rallies. The Saints denied two Benet set points including an Augustine kill that tied the score a final time at 27-27. Snelling's kill put Benet ahead 28-27, and the Saints hit long on set point.
“We had the momentum and they stole it back and we were able to take it back at the end,” Benet coach Brad Baker said.
Morgan Kull set Augustine to open the second set. But after the Saints went up 2-0, Benet scored the next 5 points and never looked back.
“When we didn't get that first game I thought, 'Oh boy, what rabbit can I pull out of my hat at this point,'” Saints coach Jennie Kull said. “The letdown of that was huge.”
Griffin tooled a ball for an 8-4 Benet lead and Kull's first timeout. The second timeout came after a Snelling kill that made it 18-11.
After all the tension in the first set, the Saints never got closer than 6 points late in the second. Nielsen assisted Griffin for the final kill on match point.
“We definitely had the momentum at the end of the first game,” Schildmeyer said. “We didn't come out as strong as we should have (in the second). Benet came out better than they played the first game. They made a lot less mistakes and played with more intensity. They are a great team. I give them so much credit.”
While Benet continues on its quest for a third state title in four years, St. Charles East can look back at a season that included a ninth straight regional title, a share of the Upstate Eight River crown and plenty of growth.
“That was fun. That was a good match,” Jennie Kull said. “At the beginning of the season I didn't think we would be competing at this level. We're here right now and they are doing this against a Benet team and pushing them to the limit. I think they all achieved greater than what we could have expected.
“I'm sad we aren't going on and I'm sad we can't spend more time together but I couldn't be prouder of this group of kids. They worked hard and well together.”