Girls volleyball: Benet’s Linden Stritch learns well from her mom, a former Mother McAuley star: ‘Everything is a credit to her’

Benet sophomore outside hitter Linden Stritch didn’t begin playing competitive volleyball until she was 12.

It didn’t take her long to establish some lofty goals. She aspires to play in college.

“I totally want to,” Stritch said. “I’ve known that since day one. I’m pretty much obsessed with sports.”

Family history might have something to do with that. Stritch’s mother, Katie, starred on Mother McAuley’s 1992 Class AA state championship team and later played at Kansas. Katie Stritch coached her daughter in middle school and remains a close confidant.

“I’ve been around volleyball my whole life because my mom played,” Linden Stritch said. “My mom has worked with me on literally everything I’ve ever done.

“Everything is a credit to her, like all the work we’ve put in outside of actual practices. I’ll come home and tell her exactly what I need to work on, and she’ll give me all this input, and it only makes me better if I listen.”

The 5-foot-9 Stritch apparently has been listening. She’s leading the Redwings (10-2) with 85 kills and has teamed with sophomore Dina DiSanto to give Benet a solid one-two punch from the pins.

“She’s always hitting the ball hard,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “If you’re hitting the ball hard, it’s a good skill, but now you’ve got to learn how to hit the ball in play and be able to hit shots.

“So she’s worked really hard in the offseason and put in a lot of time to make her into the player that she’s at. The potential is huge.”

Last season, Stritch shuttled between the freshman and junior varsity teams while she recovered from a knee injury that sidelined her for a month.

“I’d sometimes sneak into practice until (assistant coach Hector) Cano would kick me out,” she said. “Ever since I got better, I’m so grateful to be back, and I’m grateful for every moment that I could be on the court.”

The Redwings are grateful Stritch is healthy. Baker has utilized her as a right-side hitter in order to maximize her playing time.

“She plays outside, but in high school you don’t always get to pick,” Baker said. “Linden’s been great. She’s playing wherever we need her and doing what’s best for the team. You love to see that in kids.”

Benet senior setter Maddie Bryant loves what she has seen from Stritch.

“I’m just so proud of how hard she comes back no matter what happens and hits it as hard as she can again,” Bryant said. “She’s so resilient, and that’s something that I really admire about her because of how young she is.

“I don’t think there’s any limits on what she can do. I think she has so much potential with her athletic ability, how hard she hits the ball, her amazing attitude. The sky is the limit for her.”

Stritch had six kills and an ace to help Benet sweep visiting Naperville North 25-16, 25-14 on Tuesday. Bryant, who had 18 assists, said she has established a good connection with Stritch.

“It’s nice as a setter to have a hitter where you know they’re in it with you as well,” Bryant said. “You’re working with them, and they’re going to do their best to get that ball down no matter what you put up there.”

Or where the player is coming from. Stritch looked just as powerful on the right as she did on the left.

“I haven’t really played right-side before, but it’s interesting to change it up,” she said. “I was second-guessing it at first, but it’s so much fun. I love playing a new spot, and I still get to play on the outside too.”

While not yet at the level of the powerhouse Benet teams that reached the past four Class 4A state championship matches, this group is hungry to make its mark.

“I notice that at every single practice, we just keep getting better,” Stritch said. “It’s so fun to watch the girls grow. We are young, but we bring a whole new energy to the game. It’s so cool.”

Stritch, whose older sister Maddie played volleyball at Nazareth, is looking forward to a match against Mother McAuley next week and will relish playing against her mother’s alma mater.

“I love pressure, and I feel like every moment is fun,” Stritch said. “I love getting everyone pumped up, and to be around all the energy all the time is just great.

“I just love the sport, and I just want to be around it all the time.”