A new tradition for state champions

NORMAL - The theme at St. Charles East this season was "Build on Tradition" after placing third in girls volleyball in 2007. Some thought that actually meant rebuilding.

Surely not a team that could beat No. 1 Benet in a state final.

Well, look at those Saints now.

St. Charles East is girls state volleyball champions for the second time in school history, first since 2001, after Saturday night's upset win over Benet at Redbird Arena.

"Oh my gosh, I'm overwhelmed," St. Charles East coach Jennie Kull said. "I am so proud of these girls."

How did the Saints do it?

Start with one of the best setters in school history in Syracuse-bound, two-time All-Area captain Laura Homann. Add senior middle Haley Streich. Throw in a couple powerhouse junior hitters in Caroline Niski and Jacqui Seidel.

But you can't forget about the kids.

Up-and-coming sophomore Olivia Desormey and freshmen Maisy Mulvey and Meghan Niski played beyond their years. The Saints are not even on the Redbird floor Saturday without those youngsters.

"I wanted to give the seniors a state championship," Caroline Niski said. "I was going to do whatever I could to help them achieve that."

Kull's 2001 Saints team set the standard for St. Charles East volleyball. A record of 41-2, the Saints didn't even drop a game in three matches at state.

This team went 31-4 during the regular season. Champions of the Conant EarlyBird Classic, second at the Prairie Ridge Invitational and second at the Saints' own prestigious Mizuno Cup. A pretty darn impressive first couple months leading into the playoffs, when you consider three of the Saints' four losses came to defending Class 4A state champion Naperville Central and Joliet Catholic, this year's Class 3A champ.

The Saints lost twice at the Autumnfest tournament at Glenbard East one month ago today. But they ended the tournament with a win over Prairie Ridge, after which Kull said she thought they had "turned the corner" and were ready for the playoffs.

They never lost again.

Four weeks later, the Saints were champions.

"That's because the girls are so close," Kull said. "I told the kids before we started that you can have a lot of great players, but a team will always prevail. They put that to the heart, and they took care of business."

"We wanted to bring the state trophy back to St. Charles," said Caroline Niski, "and that's what we did. It feels really good to bring the trophy back to our house."