By Randy Whalen
Special to Illprepvb.com
Versatility. Benet Academy has it, and it certainly shows.
The Redwings had more blocks from their setter than they did from their middle hitters. But one of their middles, 6-foot-5 junior Lynney Tarnow, also had 2 aces and an assist. It all added up to a 25-12, 25-15 victory over Normal West in Saturday’s title match of the St. Charles East Scholastic Cup Tournament at the Great Lakes Center in Aurora.
Junior outside hitter Brooklynne Brass had 8 kills and 2 blocks to lead the versatile attack and was named tournament MVP.
“It feels good,” Brass said. “It was just the way our team played throughout. It’s such a great tournament and we have a great group of girls.
“We all work every day in practice and have such a high standard in practice that when we get on the court, we want to show what we’ve got.”
That is exactly what coach Brad Baker has instilled in the Redwings (27-0 overall, 4-0 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference).
“This was fun,” Baker said. “That is one of our goals. We don’t want players to be single-skilled. Our middles practice handling the ball and know if they want to serve, they have to play defense. They know what’s going on out there is what we’ve practiced to be a part of. We’re making good volleyball decisions.”
Normal West (27-3) scored the first point of the match and that was the Wildcats’ only lead. An ace by junior setter Ellie Stiernagle, one of five by Benet in the match, made it 2-1 as the lead grew to 7-2. Normal West never got closer than three points after that. With Benet leading18-12, a wide hit started a 7-0 run as Tarnow served out the set, including having an ace.
Tied 1-1 in the second set, Tarnow tallied a kill, a block and another ace in a 4-1 burst as the Redwings took the lead for good. Leading 5-3, setter Audrey Asleson (8 assists, 4 blocks, 1 ace) had an ace, and middle hitter Gabby Stasys (5 kills, 2 blocks) had back-to-back kills in a 4-0 run that made it 9-3.
“Everyone can play, and we have people on our bench that can come in and play well, too,” Stasys said. “It’s really nice to know we have that. We’re a very solid team. Our practices are good and we all have that connection.”
Again, the Wildcats never got closer than three points after that. Brass ended it with her final kill.
Six-foot outside hitter Ellie Rink (10 kills) led Normal West.
Earlier in Gold bracket play, Benet Academy bounced Oswego, 25-19, 25-8, while the Wildcats got past Lincoln-Way East, 25-19, 25-21. The Griffins rebounded to defeat Oswego, 25-20, 25-23, for third place.
“(Benet Academy is) really rounded for sure,” said Normal West coach Kelsey Mueller. “A really good team and the best we’ve played. But I wanted to get to this match and we did. We played a very tough, solid match against Lincoln-Way East.”
BY THE NUMBERS: Brooklynne Brass bashed 8 kills and added 2 blocks in the title match for Benet. Gabby Stasys smacked 5 kills and added 2 blocks, Kierra O’Donnell deposited 5 kills, Lynney Tarnow totaled 4 kills, 1 block and 2 aces, Audrey Asleson passed out 18 assists and had 4 blocks and an ace, Ellie Stiernagle served an ace, and Aniya Warren added an ace for the Redwings. Ellie Rink led Normal West in the title match with 10 kills. Avery Feltes contributed 4 kills and 6 digs, Ally Highland hammered 4 kills, Eden Hafermann had 2 blocks, Laine Thompson totaled 17 assists, and Shelby Sennett added 3 digs. In the third-place match, Alaina Pollard pounded 8 kills and added 2 blocks to pace Lincoln-Way East. Tamia Maddox mashed 7 kills, Maddie Hellrung had 3 blocks, Maggie Simon set 18 assists, Brooklyn Ritter added 13 assists, and Stella Drozd added 15 digs. Sidney Hamaker hammered 12 kills and added 5 digs to lead Oswego in the third-place match. Mia Jurkovic jolted 8 kills and added 6 digs, Kelsey Foster found 4 kills, Ava Flanigan distributed 20 assists, and Alexis Terrazas totaled 4 digs.
THEY SAID IT: “I’m proud of the team’s resiliency. Maybe the score (against Benet) doesn’t show it, but we stepped up and made more of our own points. Being in Central Illinois, it’s tough to get this type of competition consistently. So we are glad to come here.” – Normal West coach Kelsey Mueller.
THEY SAID IT: “It was nice to finish with a win over a very good Oswego team. We couldn’t pass against Normal West, but I’m still happy to be 4-1 here.” – Lincoln-Way East coach Sean Burns.
THEY SAID IT: “This really lets us know where we’re at, what we have to work on, and I appreciate that. I love this tournament. It’s loaded.” – Oswego coach Gary Mosley.
ON THE RECORD: Benet (27-0 overall, 4-0 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference); Normal West (27-3 overall, 7-0 in the Big Twelve Conference); Lincoln-Way East (23-4 overall, 5-0 in the Southwest Suburban Conference): Oswego (21-3 overall, 7-0 in the Southwest Prairie Conference).
By Randy Sharer
Special to Illprepvb.com
BLOOMINGTON – A multi-pronged offense helped host Bloomington Central Catholic grab the momentum from Normal University High and then refuse to give it back Saturday in the 16-team Saints Fall Classic at Illinois Wesleyan University’s Shirk Center.
The fifth annual two-day tournament concluded Saturday with the Saints, ranked No. 2 in Class 2A by Illprepvb.com, knocking off U-High, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, to become the only 5-0 finisher.
By winning its own tourney for the first time, 15-25, 25-14, 15-12, Central Catholic improved to 25-4 and avenged last month’s 26-24, 25-15 loss to the Pioneers in the Bloomington-Normal Intercity Tournament.
“We talked a lot before that second set about coming out and having fun,” said third-year Central Catholic coach Jenny Menendez, who had never beaten the Pioneers. “There was obviously a lot of pressure with the rivalry between Central Catholic and U-High.
“We play our best when we’re just having fun. I think the girls really flipped that intensity to more fun than pressure.”
Riding a 24-match winning streak, U-High (28-3) seemed its usual dominant self while building leads of 5-0, 9-4 and 18-7 en route to securing game one.
In game two, the Pioneers went up, 5-1, but then watched Central make an 11-1 run to go in front to stay at 13-7. No matter what U-High tried, it couldn’t stop the bleeding.
“They put a couple points together, and we got a little bit frantic,” said U-High outside hitter Amanda Freehill. “We didn’t really have the time that we needed to calm down and take a breather.”
Menendez credited her players for staying patient.
“Our defense played lights out tonight, especially the second and third sets,” she said. “It made a difference that we had a lot of long rallies, too. Kudos to our players to have the courage to continue to swing and jump.”
Among those brave Saints was all-tournament selection Aubrey Fair, who was repeatedly dug during game three. On match point, however, Fair swung away, tooling her eighth kill off the blockers out of bounds. Earlier, Fair’s kill put Central ahead to stay at 13-12 and teammate Lauren O’Brien followed with an ace.
Central has also lost twice this season to Normal West and once to Lincoln. U-High, however, presents unique challenges.
“You really don’t know where they are going with the ball,” Menendez said. “They are coming from everywhere, so you have to keep your head on a swivel.”
That advice also applies to foes facing 6-foot Central Catholic sophomore Kampbell Niepagen, an all-tournament selection who finished with 10 kills and 3 blocks.
“We came out in the third set fighting hard,” Niepagen said. “When we needed those big kills, we got them in the front row.”
Niepagen said the earlier loss to U-High showed how hard the Pioneers swing.
“They really work with your block, so we had to really push over,” she said. “Our defense knew we had to dig everything up.”
The Saints got 15 digs and 12 assists from O’Brien, an Illinois Wesleyan recruit, while Josie Certa added 11 assists.
First-year U-High coach Ratasha Thompson expected her team to learn from the match whether it won or lost.
“Especially when you get beat,” she said, “you can see the ways that team beat you. So that’s all the more motivation to go in the gym and fix some things we’ve got to fix and keep moving forward.”
Thompson applauded Central’s blocking and ability to adjust.
“They played different in the first set than they did in the second set than they did the third set,” she said. “I think that’s what makes them a tough opponent.”
U-High’s Morgan Petelin played tough, too, notching 7 kills and 7 assists while sisters Levyn and Laney Snow added 6 kills apiece. Levyn Snow and teammate Emma Jean Lehnen made the all-tournament team. The Snows sat out Friday’s wins over Peoria Notre Dame and Plainfield North due to illness.
“We just wanted to give them a little extra rest,” Thompson said. “Yesterday proves no matter who is on the court, our team does a great job of taking care of business when they need to.”
Central Catholic’s three-match day on Saturday included wins over Ottawa in pool play and Metamora in the semifinals.
“Every single one of their hitters can get a kill at any time,” Freehill said of the Saints. “And their defense is really good. They are getting amazing ups and hits really hard to score in long rallies. It’s just really tiring.”
U-High’s earlier matches included a three-set win over Williamsville and a semifinal triumph over a young Morton squad.
Morton (22-7) took third place in the Gold bracket with a 23-25, 25-22, 15-9 decision over all-tournament choice Addi Pacha and Metamora (16-12), a team the Potters defeated for the third time this season.
“We love how much we got challenged this weekend,” said Morton coach Jordan Williams, who placed Rebekah Stock on the all-tournament team. “Overall, I was really impressed by how much we improved.”
Winning the Silver bracket for fifth overall was Mascoutah (23-8), which is ranked No. 6 in 3A. The Indians finished with a 25-8, 25-23 win over Pleasant Plains (18-13). Making the all-tournament team were Mascoutah’s Avery Boehm and Pleasant Plains’ Izzy Lynch.
Mascoutah coach Brooke Kloess came in with high hopes after recently enjoying a 14-12 third-set lead over Class 2A’s No. 1-ranked Breese Mater Dei before falling, 25-21, 14-25, 16-14.
“It’s obvious we’ve made progress throughout the season,” Kloess said. “There have been multiple teams we’ve played twice, and we have closed the gap on them the second time.”
Rounding out the 16-player all-tournament team were Bloomington’s Macey Stevenson, Lincoln’s Peyton Sasse, Mount Zion’s Madi Moore, Ottawa’s Addison Duggan, Peoria Notre Dame’s Aidan Maloney, Plainfield North’s Gia Burton, Decatur St. Teresa’s Jalie Eller and Williamsville’s Britni Walters.
BY THE NUMBERS: Kampbell Niepagen led Bloomington Central Catholic with 10 kills and 3 blocks while Lauren O’Brien chipped in 12 assists, 15 digs and 2 aces. Aubrey Fair added 8 kills, Josie Certa 11 assists and Addison Hoeniges 3 block assists. U-High’s Morgan Petelin had 7 kills and 7 assists while Levyn Snow and Laney Snow had 6 kills apiece. Lola Clayton handed out 16 assists and Emma Jean Lehnen provided 10 digs.
THEY SAID IT: “That’s a big win for us against a good program.” – Bloomington Central Catholic coach Jenny Menendez.
THEY SAID IT: “(The Saints) really do a good job of adjusting to whomever they are playing.” – U-High coach Ratasha Thompson.
THEY SAID IT: “It’s hard when we’ve won so many games in a row and play a good team that we’ve already played and they know what we are doing.” – Normal U-High outside hitter Amanda Freehill.
THEY SAID IT: “I think we’re going to peak in the postseason because I don’t think we should peak yet. This definitely shows everyone what we have.” – Central Catholic outside hitter Kampbell Niepagen.
ON THE RECORD: Bloomington Central Catholic (25-4 overall), Normal University High (28-3), Morton (22-7), Metamora (16-12), Mascoutah (23-8), Pleasant Plains (18-13), Williamsville (20-8), Decatur St. Teresa (6-20), Ottawa (21-9), Bloomington (8-18), Mount Zion (15-14), Peoria Notre Dame (7-20), Lincoln (15-13), Herscher (7-22), Plainfield North (6-22), Jacksonville Routt (7-22).