Red-hot Benet sweeps Joliet Catholic
Benet has probably played itself out of a conference championship the last two weeks.
The Redwings are eyeing a bigger prize anyway.
“Our main goal is to win state at the end of the year,” Benet senior Meghan Haggerty said. “That’s all that matters.”
No. 2 Benet sure seems to be peaking at the right time. On Thursday the Redwings made short work of Joliet Catholic 25-15, 25-19 in Lisle for their sixth straight two-set win.
Benet (25-3, 5-2 East Suburban Catholic Conference) turned the tables on a tough couple Thursdays. The Redwings’ last two losses — at Providence and at home against Marist — came the last two Thursdays. In both losses Benet won the first set and led in the second only to lose in three.
For conference purposes the Redwings dropped Joliet Catholic (24-4, 7-1) into a three-way tie in the loss column with Providence and Marist with a week left.
Both teams played short-handed, but it clearly hurt Joliet Catholic more.
Joliet Catholic’s Loyola-bound senior outside Kelly Feigh, bothered by nagging back spasms all year, missed her second match in a week. On the Benet side, senior middle and Villanova recruit Gaby Pethokoukis, who only recently returned from a broken finger, fell ill at practice this week. She was to visit a doctor for a diagnosis.
To no surprise to Joliet Catholic coach Christine Scheibe, the Redwings didn’t miss a beat. Benet still towered over her team.
“When you’re talking about Benet, (missing one girl) doesn’t count,” Scheibe said. “They have eight girls that are 6 foot or taller on their roster. I haven’t had eight in my career at JCA. It’s hard to compete with that sometimes.”
Injuries to Pethokoukis and Mackenzie Kuhn have thrust sophomore middle Brittany Pavich into an expanded role, and she hasn’t disappointed. On Thursday she had 6 kills and 4 blocks while hitting at a ridiculous .900 percentage.
“Brittany has found her niche,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “She hits a couple shots very well and we use her in those type shots over and over again. They knew what was coming tonight and they still had trouble stopping it.”
Pavich and Haggerty held court in the middle, and Joliet Catholic had no answer. Haggerty had 8 kills and 3 blocks, and the two combined to hit .600. In the first set alone they had 8 kills and 3 blocks.
“We’re starting to get our middles more involved,” said the Wisconsin-bound Haggerty. “If we spread the ball around no teams can stop us. We have two, three, four really good middles. We’re lucky to have that many.”
Benet never trailed in the first set, jumping out to an 8-2 lead on a kill off the block by Jenna Jendryk. Joliet Catholic drew within 11-8, but Benet answered with a quick 4-0 run capped by a Jendryk block.
Benet started the second set somewhat sluggish, and trailed 8-6 after a tip kill by Joliet Catholic’s Robertson. Maddie Haggerty answered with a block and Meghan Haggerty served an ace, touching off a decisive 10-2 run.
Jendryk had 7 kills and 4 blocks and Hannah Kaminsky 22 assists for Benet. Morgan Reardon had 7 kills for Joliet Catholic, who could meet Benet again this weekend. The Angels are seeded second and Benet first at Glenbard East’s Autumnfest tournament.