Redwings reach past the Stars

Technically, the Benet girls volleyball team did trail the North Stars in their match against St. Charles North on Tuesday night in Lisle.

However, that moment passed as quickly as it came when the Redwings evened the first game score at 1-1.

From that point on Benet (6-0) never fell behind again, handling the North Stars 25-8, 25-14.

"I thought we played great," Redwings coach Brad Baker said. "We talked about high energy and playing with confidence, playing with passion, and that's what the girls did."

St. Charles North (4-3) hung tough against the Redwings early in the first game, staying within 3 points as late as 10-7.

When Benet junior Ariana Mankus began serving, though, the Redwings began pulling away. By the time Mankus' run ended, Benet held a comfortable 18-8 advantage, highlighted by a Mankus ace and a Natalie Patzin kill from junior Beth Kinsella.

"I thought we've served and passed better this early in the season, and that's a good sign if we're already serving and passing (so well)," Baker said. "That just shows where we're going to be by the end of the season."

And where does Baker expect his team to be by then?

"The girls have extremely high goals. St. Charles North is not a bad team by any stretch of the (imagination), and with the way we played tonight, we just need to stay focused on where we want to be and come and work hard every day in practice."

In the second game Benet's Jessica Jendryk reeled off a similar serving streak to Mankus'. Jendryk took a 5-3 lead and surrendered the serve with her team ahead 13-4, mixing in 2 aces to go along with 2 Mankus kills.

Afterward, North Stars coach Lindsay Trudell tipped her cap to the young Redwings squad.

"I am totally impressed with Benet," Trudell said. "I know they're primarily juniors and sophomores out there, and that's awesome."

St. Charles North's 4-3 record can be deceiving when you consider the tough schedule it has played so far, yet Trudell continues to strive for more. The North Stars have already competed against teams such as Naperville North, Rosary and Benet and are headed to the tough DuPage Area Invite next week.

"We have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of individual talent on our team; we're just not putting it together," Trudell said. "We're unable to highlight what our strengths are right now."