Benet still standing after semifinal
Benet had waited for another shot at Mother McAuley since missing out at Autumnfest a month ago. Four Redwings seniors dreamed for four years of the opportunity to take the court at Redbird Arena.
The two best teams in Illinois. Both top 10 nationally.
It didn't disappoint.
The Redwings were the last ones standing after a back-and-forth match with the most storied volleyball program in Illinois history, beating Mother McAuley 25-21, 20-25, 25-19 on Friday night in Normal.
Benet (40-1) will play St. Charles East, a 26-24, 25-20 winner over in Friday's first Class 4A semifinal, at 7:45 p.m. today for the school's first state championship in a girls team sport.
"We've been waiting to play this match our whole lives," said Benet senior Jessica Jendryk. "We were ready to play for three hours if that's what it took."
The Redwings seemed well on their way to a two-set win, up a game and 12-3 in the second. But Mother McAuley (38-2) roared back to tie it at 15-15 on a flip kill by setter Desiree Aramburu, tied it again at 17-17 on a Kelly Griffin kill and then took a 19-18 lead moments later.
The Mighty Macs finished Game 2 on a 22-8 run, then carried that momentum into Game 3, scoring the first five points. A long Mother McAuley serve got Benet on the board, and kills by Natalie Patzin, Gina Finke and Ariana Mankus pulled the Redwings within a point.
It stayed nip-and-tuck until at 15-15 Benet took control behind the powerful play of Jendryk. The Redwings' middle rose for 2 blocks, teamed with Brianne Hucek for a block, and then put down a block and a kill that gave Benet command of the match at 19-14. Jendryk was a force at the net all match with 10 kills and 4 blocks.
"I was definitely feeling it," Jendryk said, "jumping as high as I can. Every touch, every ball counted."
Leading 24-21, Mankus drove home her 10th kill off a Mighty Macs deflection for the match.
"This is an extremely mature group of girls," Benet coach Brad Baker said, "that do not get rattled. They know that it's not what you do when things are going easy. It's how you do when things are going tough, when your backs are against the wall."
Griffin had 11 kills for Mother McAuley, denied a shot at its 14th state championship after taking second to Naperville Central last year.
"I had a feeling they would fight back," Mother McAuley coach Jen DeJarld said, "but I'm still in shock we didn't finish. But Benet is a great team."
Patzin had 11 kills and Paige Vargas 11 digs for Benet.
"We knew they were a great team," Vargas said, "but I think our team really prepared well for them. We fought hard for every point. We didn't give up and it showed."
After winning what many volleyball fans called the de facto state championship, what do the Redwings do for an encore?
Baker, for one, is sure there will not be a letdown.
"You mean, in the state championship?" Baker replied, asked about a possible letdown. "I think we'll be ready."