St. Charles East tops Benet
Meghan Niski remembered well the last time St. Charles East met Benet on the volleyball floor.
"Autumnfest last year, we lost to them in three games - that was the match my sister (Caroline) got hurt," Niski said.
Tuesday's match will provide Niski a more pleasant memory.
Niski and Samantha Szarmach put down 8 kills each as St. Charles East knocked off Benet, ranked seventh nationally by PrepVolleyball.com, 25-19, 25-23 in the season opener for both teams in Lisle.
"It's a great way to start the season for us, going up against a big team like that," Niski said, "It really gives us confidence for the rest of the season."
St. Charles East itself is ranked 33rd nationally in PrepVolleyball.com's preseason list. With standouts Caroline Niski and Jacqui Seidel graduated, third-year varsity player Niski is now one of the Saints' veterans.
Niski's kill in the second game touched off a run of 7 straight Saints points that turned a 12-9 Benet lead into a 16-12 St. Charles East advantage. Two more Niski kills capped off the Saints' surge.
With St. Charles East clinging to a 24-23 lead after Meghan Haggerty put down her 7th kill for Benet, Niski punched an off-balance kill over the Benet block for match point.
"You can see the love of the game in her face," St. Charles East coach Jennie Kull said of Niski. "She really does love to play and she's a dynamic hitter. She jumps well, she's smart and she makes plays. That showed tonight."
Benet bore little resemblance to a team with six players committed to Division I colleges in the first game. Nine of St. Charles East's first 10 points came courtesy of Benet errors. The Redwings committed 18 errors in Game 1.
"We cleaned it up a little bit in the second game," Benet coach Brad Baker said, "but I thought St. Charles East played well tonight. We didn't bring our best game. Give credit to St. Charles East."
The Redwings perhaps still walk away with a win against a lesser opponent. Not against one the likes of St. Charles East, which beat Benet for the 2008 state championship. Both teams fell a match short of returning to state a year ago, and both should be in the mix again.
Benet pulled within 22-18 in the first game, but kills by Olivia Desormey and setter Erienne Barry put out the Redwings' rally.
"The girls really stepped up their level of play today," Kull said. "Benet is a phenomenal team. They made errors and I know that that isn't indicative of what they're about. Our kids took advantage of those errors and that shows maturity. The girls stayed composed and played well together."
Lara Ontko had 8 kills and an ace for Benet, which returns to action this weekend at its Benet Invite. A tough field includes Hinsdale Central, York and Lemont.
"In both games we saw stretches of really good volleyball. We saw lots of good things," Baker said. "It's still early in the season. We scheduled these matches to know where we are. It is still August."