Benet's quick attack sinks St. Charles East
The way Benet's girls volleyball team brings home state championships it's almost easier to count the years they don't win than the ones they do.
But boy do the Redwings remember the years they don't.
The first thing Benet noticed when it walked into St. Charles East's gym for a nonconference match Thursday was a framed photo commemorating the Saints' 2008 state championship team - one that defeated Benet in the title match.
"I thought we really amped it up," Benet's Tiffany Clark said. "We always come for a great game here. I think we really brought it, we played with a purpose, we were ready to go and avenge the 2008 team that lost in the state finals."
The Redwings have won plenty of hardware since then - including the 2012, 2013 and 2015 state championships - yet also have long memories.
Clark, a Michigan-bound senior, said she was "a little, tiny girl" when that 2008 match took place.
"We don't forget about that stuff," Clark said. "We never forget. This is always a great place to play. That's a great team but I thought we played well."
Benet looks poised for another long postseason run, clicking on all cylinders in a 25-15, 25-20 victory.
The Redwings (11-1), who have only lost to York, led for all but a brief 2-1 deficit early in the first set on one of Klaudia Sowizral's 7 kills.
"We're progressively getting better," Benet coach Brad Baker. "It's good to see us make changes we've worked on and see it in the games."
Benet setter Sara Nielsen, headed to Minnesota, ran a quicker-paced offense than the Saints have seen this year. Gretchen Rudel put away 6 kills in the opening set while Smith, Veronica Snelling and Lina Lietuvninkas all took turns with big swings.
The Saints (11-4) pulled within 16-12 when Morgan Kull set Riley Schumacher in the middle. Benet outscored St. Charles East 9-3 from there to close out the set.
The lefty Snelling blasted two kills and served an ace during the run, capped by a Rudel kill.
"To win big matches like that you are going to have to have a balanced offense," Baker said. "We want to be able to set anybody no matter the moment. Tonight we were running middles, using our pins at proper times. It's good to see everyone is involved."
The Saints stayed closer most of the second set, getting a boost from new libero Alexis Jett. One of the few Benet attacking errors brought St. Charles East within 16-15 before the Redwings again surged.
Lauren Berta, who blocked the Saints well all night, put away an overpass for a 24-18 lead. Kyla Augustine's kill kept the Saints alive momentarily before Rudel ended the second set like she did the first with a kill.
"We always want to go that state championship level and we're not that team yet," Clark said. "We just have to clean up a few areas, make smarter decisions and I think we'll be there."
Clark and Rudel both had 9 kills to lead Benet while Sowizral and Augustine's 7 paced the Saints.
"I love playing Benet," Saints coach Jennie Kull said. "I saw some really great things. I saw things we need to get better to compete against teams like that. They are a fast team. We didn't execute the things we need to execute but the good news is we can work on those things. Everything we didn't do well tonight is something we can get better at."