LISLE – Benet’s Caroline Wolf understands that defense wins championships.
Under the tutelage of Benet head coach Brad Baker, assistants Kyle Reid and Kim Sayers, and former Redwing liberos such as 2012 graduate Sheila Doyle, Wolf has developed the defensive moxie that defined the Redwings during back-to-back state title runs in 2011 and 2012. In her fourth year on the varsity squad, Wolf guided Benet to a 24-3 regular season record, has recorded 426 digs, and has led the Redwings back to this weekend’s state finals. The team’s defensive leader as libero and also a team captain, Wolf is also the Suburban Life all-area girls volleyball team MVP. “Caroline has been an impact player for us all year long,” Baker said. “She is the leader of our defense and also an emotional leader on and off the court. She brings a team-first mentality and is a great communicator.” The Naperville resident also pitched in on the offensive side of things by successfully serving 96 percent of her serves. As a result, Wolf was crowned the MVP at the Benet Invite and the Wheaton Classic and was all-tournament at Autumnfest. A defender through and through, she selflessly deflects praise and credits her coaches and the Redwings’ program for her success. “It is really a pleasure to be a part of such an esteemed program,” Wolf said. “The coaches have brought a winning atmosphere to the school and helped a lot of really talented athletes improve as players and individuals.” Before coming to Benet, Wolf played softball and a was a highly regarded gymnast and swimmer. It wasn’t until her seventh grade year at Lisle’s St. Joan of Arc School that she picked up a volleyball. Wolf soon joined up to play club volleyball with Sports Performance, explaining that her natural communication skills were perfectly suited for such a cooperative game. “As a libero, my communication skills are my biggest asset,” Wolf said. “I am a loud person, I’m instinctual and say what I feel. My energetic personality goes a long way on the court.” Wolf’s volleyball skillset and natural athletic abilities are not far behind her communication savvy. A hitter before switching to the libero position, Wolf’s tremendous reach and quickness allow her to dig balls that most defenders cannot get. Volleyball coaches at Wake Forest University also recognized Wolf’s bevvy of talents, recruiting her to come aboard following a junior season in which she helped lead the Redwings to a state title. But, she’s not quite ready to look that far ahead, as Wolf again has her team vying for another state title. Congratulations to Caroline Wolf on being named 2nd Team All-American. She was one of the 4 liberos to be honored and 1 of 3 players from the state of IL! Congrats!
Link to 1st and 2nd Teams 2013 Varsity Team Highlights:
NORMAL, Ill. – Mother McAuley ended its longest stretch without a state title, battling two-time defending Class 4A champion Benet in both sets until crunch time, and then pounding out a 25-22, 25-19 victory. The title is McAuley’s 14th, but its first since 2004 – Nancy Pedersen’s last before retiring as the head coach. Jen DeJarld had brought four teams to state previously, recording one second and three third-place finishes. “Oh my gosh, she’s been my coach for three years,” Mighty Macs setter Courtney Joyce said. “She’s such a great coach. I couldn’t have gotten here without her.” Kayla Caffey paced the Mighty Macs (40-2) with eight kills, two of them resulting in the 25th point in Set 1, and the 24th in Set 2. Ryann DeJarld (7 kills), Kelsey Clark (6 kills), Maggie Scanlon (4 kills, 5 digs), Carla Cahill (9 digs), Mallory Maxwell (8 kills) and Joyce (26 assists, 3 kills) also starred for McAuley. Benet (36-6) was led by Rachael Fara (6 kills), Dana Griffin (6 kills), Caroline Wolf (13 digs), Kelly O’Malley (11 digs) and Stephanie Sinnappan (20 assists). In the first set, it was 21-20 McAuley when Clark slammed home a quick-set from Joyce. Clark then rotated out, and Caffey replaced her on the court and in action, getting another set in the middle from Joyce and putting it down. At 24-22, it was Caffey again, putting down another Joyce quick for the set winner. “It was totally exciting,” Caffey said. “We had such a determination to win. It was just our whole team. Everyone plays a huge part. We have excellent passers and setters. We all came together.” Benet did some impressive rallying in the second set from a 17-13 deficit with a four-point run featuring back-to-back kills by Ashley Hitchcock and Sinnappan A kill by Clark, however, put McAuley back in front 18-17, after which DeJarld connected on a line shot down the left side. Three consecutive Benet errors put McAuley in command. At 23-19, Caffey delivered the definitive blow on another quick-set from Joyce. The drought was over. “It’s pretty unreal right now,” Ryann DeJarld said. “I’m so proud of my teammates. What a total team effort. We knew we had it in us, and we did it, so I’m really proud.” McAuley ended what had been a 20-game state playoff winning streak by Benet. “They outplayed us in every aspect,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “They dominated the serve, serve-receive battle, which allowed them to have three options. “When you have as many good hitters as they do, it’s really impossible to stop. But I’m extremely proud of our girls and how hard they fought.” Chicago Suntimes By Phil Brozynski
Benet headed to 4A final with win over Crystal Lake South NORMAL, Ill. – Benet had runs. Crystal Lake South did, too. But then again, too few to mention. The Redwings closed Game 1 on a 14-5 run and opened the second set with a 12-3 explosion. It added up to a 25-22, 25-18 victory over the Gators and a berth in the championship match of the Class 4A tournament at Redbird Arena. Benet (36-5) will play for its third consecutive Class 4A state title Saturday at 8:55 p.m. For awhile, however, the Redwings’ 19-match winning streak in state tournament play was in jeopardy. The Gators jumped out to a 17-11 lead before the Redwings slowly crept back into the match. A kill and service ace by Ashley Hitchcock finally pulled Benet even at 21-21. “I thought we played with great resolve,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “That’s kind of how our season’s been. We’ve had challenges the whole season long. At times we’ve had to fight and continue to play hard. “Tonight’s match was just like that …never giving up and just continuing to play hard the whole time no matter what the score is or what the situation is,” he said. “It’s a game of runs. Crystal Lake South did a great job of having runs in the second set. We were just able to stave off their runs.” Crystal Lake South (37-4) used a couple of short runs to cut into a 17-9 Benet lead in the second set. The Gators closed to within 20-17 on a kill by Carly Nolan and two attack errors by the Redwings. But 6-3 junior Rachael Fara answered with four of her match-high nine kills to turn the Gators back. “At the beginning, I was really antsy, I wasn’t thinking straight and missed a couple of sets,” she said. “It all seemed like a dream. Finally, I said, ‘Hey, this is real and it’s go time.’ Stephanie [Sinnappan] had great sets. Everything was awesome. It was great.” Junior Dana Griffin added six kills for Benet, which also got four kills apiece by Battoe, Marija Cyvas and Hitchcock (two aces), and 21 assists and seven digs from Sinnappan. Natalie Canulli had two of Benet’s seven aces. “I think we did a great job of staying calm and playing our game,” Wolf said. “We’ve been down in the playoffs before. Each time we came into a timeout we had nothing but positive things to say. Everybody did great job of staying calm and fighting back.” Carly Nolan led Crystal Lake South with six kills, and Nicole Slimko and Avalon Nero both had four. Cassy Sivesind had 12 assists. “I have a some wonderful athletes, some confident athletes, but you can’t help feeling a little nervous the first time playing in an arena like this,” Crystal Lake South coach Jorie Fontana said. “That outburst of confidence at the beginning of the first set kind of felt untouchable. Then as things started to creep back, the nerves and things started to play a part.” Chicago Suntimes By Phil Brozynski
Benet (35-5) threw up a wall at the net, rejecting eight shots for winners, and Caroline Wolf (15 digs), sophomore Tiffany Clark (seven digs) and junior Natalie Canulli (five digs) cleaned up the rest as the Redwings knocked off Normal 25-18, 25-20. NORMAL – Benet coach Brad Baker was worried that if Normal Community was able to pass well and stay in system, his team could be in for a long night Saturday at the Class 4A supersectional hosted by the Ironmen. Normal passed well, but it still wasn’t enough. Benet (35-5) threw up a wall at the net, rejecting eight shots for winners, and Caroline Wolf (15 digs), sophomore Tiffany Clark (seven digs) and junior Natalie Canulli (five digs) cleaned up the rest as the Redwings earned their third consecutive trip to the state finals, 25-18, 25-20. “They reminded of me when we saw Glenbard West (at Autumnfest),” Baker said. “That was one of the best high school passing performances we’ve ever seen. We didn’t have anyone to serve. They were consistently in system. “We thought that if they (Normal) could pass like that, we could lose,” he added. “But we were able to defend and block well enough and give ourselves enough chances. This team has some girls who love to play defense. Now they get to play a couple more times.” Benet grabbed a quick 15-6 lead in Game 1 on three kills from junior Dana Griffin (nine kills) and a dump by Stephanie Sinnappan (17 assists, three blocks, kill). But Normal countered with seven unanswered points before the Redwings regrouped. Normal (24-15) opened Game 2 with a 7-2 flurry and still led 13-11 when Benet surged behind Whitney Battoe, who had five kills and a block in the second set. “Our focus before the game was to stay steady,” Battoe said. “We were confident that our team could get out of situations when we needed to. We and we just stayed calm the whole way out and pushed through the end.” A kill by Battoe gave Benet the lead for good at 15-14, and blocks by Sinnappan and 6-foot-1 junior middle Marija Cyvas extended the lead to 22-19 before Griffin went back-to-back and Battoe put away the final point. “We were just trying to put Stephanie in the best position so she could set all three hitters,” Wolf said. “We’re doing a really good job of ball control. It’s improved a ton. We still have some things to improve, but right now we’re happy and we want to keep it up.” Sophomore Micki Quakenbush led Normal with nine kills, junior middle Machayla Leonard added seven and Ginny Gerig and Erika Peoples each had 11 assists. “I think the second game was more indicative of us as a team,” Normal coach Christine Konopasek said. “But even then there were stretches where we erred ourselves to the point where we were making it difficult to recover. “But to lose to them is to lose to a really, really quality team,” she added. “They play 100 percent defense all the time and they run a super fast offense. They are a very, very good program.” Chicago Suntimes By Phil Brozynski
Playing near-flawless defense and getting contributions from 11 different players, Benet (34-5) defeated Naperville North 25-21, 25-13 to win its third consecutive sectional championship and advance to Saturday’s 7 p.m. supersectional against the hosts at Normal Community. About an hour before the championship match Thursday at the Class 4A Plainfield South Sectional, Benet setter Stephanie Sinnappan was sitting alone a couple of rows up in the corner of the stands with her head down and eyes closed. “I wasn’t sick or anything, that’s me visualizing,” said Sinnappan, who had to leave the court moments before the championship match at the Wheaton Classic earlier this season due to a little intestinal distress. So how did her visions turn out? “Fantastic,” she said. “Better than I could imagine.” Playing near-flawless defense and getting contributions from 11 different players, Benet defeated Naperville North 25-21, 25-13 to win its third consecutive sectional championship and advance to Saturday’s 7 p.m. supersectional against the hosts at Normal Community. Sinnappan led Benet (34-5) with 18 assists, three blocks and a kill, 5-foot-11 junior Dana Griffin added 11 kills, 6-3 junior middle Rachael Fara added four kills and two blocks, and Caroline Wolf had 12 digs including some highlight-reel saves. “We had great defense,” Griffin said. “They had a lot of really, really good hits at the beginning of the game. We had to work hard for every point. We know they’re a good team and have a lot of good players. We knew we had to step up every point.” Benet jumped out to leads of 13-6 and 23-16 in Game 1, but Naperville North (34-5) used runs of 6-1 and 5-1 to pull within 24-21 before Griffin closed out the first set with a kill off the block. Six service errors contributed to the Huskies’ first-set woes. “I think Benet played lights out,” said Naperville North coach Jennifer Urban, whose team was looking for its first sectional title since 2004. “We’ve seen them a couple of times on film and that’s the best we’ve seen them play. “Missing six serves was tough because I think we played pretty well in the first game despite the missed serves. In the second game they really played lights out. They found every opening on our court and exposed our weaknesses.” In Game 2, Benet overcame an early 4-2 deficit with a 14-3 run. Naperville North never recovered. Griffin finished it off with a tip over the block. Emily Mankowski and Lexi Turek each had seven kills for the Huskies, who also got 12 assists and an ace from junior setter Emily Kwak. Whitney Battoe added three kills and Sinnappan and Kelly O’Malley each added five digs for Benet. “I’m on cloud nine right now,” Sinnappan said. “I just want to keep going. I want to keep practicing. I’m happy, but this is not it.” Chicago Suntimes By Phil Brozynski
Benet squandered a 23-21 lead in the second game of its Class 4A sectional semifinal against Waubonsie Valley Tuesday at Plainfield South. There would be no such difficulties in Game 3. Dana Griffin had nine kills, middle hitters Marija Cyvas and Rachael Fara each had eight and Stephanie Sinnappan added 26 assists, six kills and three blocks as Benet opened a 17-8 lead in Game 3 on its way to a 25-21, 24-26, 25-13 victory over the Warriors. The Redwings (33-5) advance to Thursday’s championship match against either Naperville North or Plainfield North at 7 p.m. Benet libero Caroline Wolf, who was credited with 25 digs, chalked up the second game as a learning experience. “Not every game is going to be easy,” said the Wake Forest-bound senior. “We have to control what we can. In the second game, I think we let it slip away from us. We didn’t control as many things as we usually do. It was a good reminder that we can’t take any one lightly and any game lightly.” Waubonsie Valley certainly did not take Fara lightly, but the Warriors were repeatedly stung by Cyvas, the Redwings’ 6-foot-1 junior middle. Her eight kills, many on tips over the block, were a career high. “We had some tape on them and we saw that their libero played deep,” Cyvas said. “The coaches told us to tip until they start picking it up. I was tipping and I was swinging. We beat them either way.” Rachel Minarick had 13 kills and 16 assists to lead Waubonsie Valley (30-8). Junior Becky Breuer and sophomore Brooke Burling each had nine kills and junior setter Lauren Hiller added 10 assists. “You can come back from a two-point or maybe a four-point deficit against teams like Benet, but you can’t come back from an eight-point deficit,” Waubonsie Valley coach Kristen Stuart. “We definitely got ourselves in a bad position with serve-receive and we got a little tentative on attack. “We won Game 2 because we were aggressive on our attack throughout,” she added. “I wish we had fought a little harder in Game 3 and been a little more determined.” Chicago Suntimes - By Phil Brozynski
When push came to shove in the Class 4A regional championship Thursday at Plainfield East, Benet did all the shoving. “I think both sides played outstanding defense, but their hitters … they’re tall, their powerful, they just overpowered us,” Lockport coach Erika Lange said. Dana Griffin, a five-foot-11 junior, had 10 kills, 5-11 Ashley Hitchcock added eight kills, 6-foot-3 Rachael Fara had four kills and three blocks and 6-foot setter Stephanie Sinnappan added 28 assists as the two-time defending state champions defeated Lockport 25-18, 25-16. Benet (32-5) advances to play Waubonsie Valley (30-7) at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Class 4A sectional at Plainfield South. Lockport exits at 22-14. After trailing 13-11 in Game 1 and finding themselves tied at 11 in Game Two, the Redwings closed both games on 14-5 runs. Back-to-back kills by Natalie Canulli gave Benet a 20-15 lead in Game 1 to force a Lockport timeout, and a diving dig by Tiffany Clark that fell behind the Lockport defense handed the Redwings a 22-15 lead in Game 2. But it was the one-two punch of Griffin and Hitchcock that sent Benet to the sectional semifinals for the seventh consecutive year. “I think that was one of my best games I’ve had so far,” said Griffin, who did not see the court until late in the season. “After practicing with my team, we’ve gotten a lot better. I’m really happy with what happened out there. “We just have to stay calm throughout the match and have the confidence that we can do it,” she added. “I think the intensity that comes with the last points of the game really amp up our energy, our want to win. That really helps us finish out games.” Griffin and Hitchcock had only five kills between them in Game 1, leaving the early work to Canulli (two kills, two aces) and Fara. “Lockport did a great job blocking us during the first half of each set,” Hitchcock said. “But our passing was phenomenal and our middles were able to take the middle blockers with them. The pin hitters were able to get one-on-one situations, we got great sets and we were able to put the ball away.” Benet also got 17 digs from libero Caroline Wolf and 10 digs from Clark. “We have a game plan and we stick to it for as long as it takes,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “We also say that if you find somebody that’s hot, keep getting them the ball and let’s just keep going there until we get to 25 (points).” Kayla Pfeiffer led Lockport with six kills, six assists and 13 digs. Amber Stefanski added four kills and three blocks, and Olivia Witsaman added four kills, seven assists and eight digs. “Their (Benet’s) blocking was a little weak at the beginning of Game 1, but they picked up their blocking and we had to find some different angles that were weaker for us,” Lange said. “Benet is a very, very good team. They deserved that win tonight.” Benet's Stephanie Sinnappan spells relief at Wheaton Classic
09/21/2013, 9:30pm CDT By Phil Brozynski Benet setter Stephanie Sinnappan dispelled some pre-game nausea and then went to work on Plainfield North, totaling six aces and 20 assists as the Redwings won 25-9, 25-18 to take the Wheaton Classic title on Saturday. Benet setter Stephanie Sinnappan ran off the court moments before her team was to take on Plainfield North in the championship of the Wheaton Classic on Saturday. “I was nauseous,” the 6-foot senior said. “I think some food went down the wrong way. Maybe dehydration. I have to drink more water. Before we started I said I needed to get this out of my system so I could play because I feel so nauseous right now. “But after a few moments, I was able to shake it off and said ‘Yes, I’m ready to go,’” she added. “It was a sigh of relief.” Six aces and 20 assists later, there was no relief for Plainfield North. Sinnappan led Benet (14-1) to its third consecutive Wheaton Classic title with a 25-9, 25-18 victory over Plainfield North. It was Benet’s 11th straight regular-season tournament title since losing to Joliet Catholic in the finals of the Mizuno Scholastic Cup tournament in 2010. The Redwings got eight kills from Whitney Battoe, six kills from Ashley Hitchcock, five kills from Rachael Fara and nine digs from Caroline Wolf and a gutsy – literally – effort from their setter, who strung together five aces during an 8-0 service run in Game One. “I've only seen it twice, and both times [when] somebody's thrown up, they played great,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “Didn't Michael [Jordan] do it, too? But once the match got going, she [Sinnappan] was able to focus on the match, which was good to see.” “We were able to take [Plainfield North] out of system, and you get any high school team out of system and it becomes easier,” he added. “Your blockers can focus on one half of the court. They don't have three hitters to defend. It makes things a lot easier, and that's part of our goal defensively.” Trailing 14-5 in Game Two, Plainfield North (18-2) was able to put together runs of 4-0 and 5-0 to close within 18-15. But Benet regained the momentum behind back-to-back kills by Battoe and two net violations by the Tigers before Hitchcock put the match away with a winner from the left side. “Our passing completely shut down, and our communication went soon after that,” Plainfield North coach Tracey Marshall said. “We completely unraveled. It wasn't anything that Benet did, we did it to ourselves. We weren't competing like we did all weekend. That was not us out there.” Kate Federico had nine assists, three kills and an ace to lead the Tigers, who also got four kills form Dakota Santore. Daily Herald - by Josh Welge
Benet will not doubt be a better team with Brittany Pavich. But even without her, at Benet it's still business as usual. The No. 2 Redwings won their own Benet Invite for the third straight year — sixth in the last seven — rallying minus their best hitter past York 20-25, 25-21, 25-16 in Saturday's championship match. Whitney Battoe, one of several Redwings getting their first taste of varsity action this weekend, put down a match-high 15 kills, including game point in the second and 4 more in Game 3. "For a lot of us this is the first time we've started, so we're really excited to win this," said Battoe, a senior outside. "We really pushed ourselves in the preseason and club season. We were ready for today." Pavich, a Boston College-bound senior middle is maybe the best at her position in the state. But she hasn't practiced yet because of shoulder tendinitis. Baker doesn't expect her back until at least the Wheaton Classic in mid-September, but isn't making any excuses in the meantime. Even with a healthy Pavich, Benet would be breaking in this year a new setter, libero and all new pin hitters off last year's team that repeated as Class 4A state champs. "We say if you're on the court, you better perform," Baker said. "We don't care who it is or what your name is. If we don't get Brittany back we're not using it as a crutch. If she doesn't come back she doesn't come back. If she does come back we're the better for it." Much like Cara Mattaliano last year, Battoe had minimal varsity experience before her senior year. Just two years ago, she was a defensive specialist. She's ready to make a similar name for herself. "Cara was a huge role model for me. I'm excited to step up and take her position," Battoe said. "I want to be the best outside hitter in the state, to prove I'm ready for the challenge." Benet (5-0) dominated its first four matches of the weekend, including a 25-14, 25-16 win over York in Friday pool play, but was pushed by the Dukes the second time around. That was fine by Baker, who got 5 kills each from Natalie Canulli and Rachael Fara, 21 digs from Caroline Wolf and 35 assists by Stephanie Sinnappan. Incredibly, Benet has finished first in its last 10 tournaments dating back to 2010 — 12 straight if you include the 2011 and 2012 state tournaments. "New names, but the results end up being the same," Baker said. "There's definitely things to learn and pages of stuff we can get better at," Baker said. "In my book that's a good thing when you can win championships and still see huge room for improvement." York gave Benet 13 points off errors in the third game Saturday, but Dukes coach Patty Iverson had much to build on. Her team rallied to beat No. 4 Waubonsie Valley 25-23, 29-27 in a semifinal Saturday, and against Benet managed 16 blocks. Amy Nosek had 11 kills and 10 digs, Claudia Zerdin 6 kills and 7 digs, Halle Truett 7 digs and Rachel Iverson 17 assists. "We do some things really well. We blocked really well today," said Iverson, whose team is back at Benet Wednesday night for a non-conference match. Little things like covering, playing defense and too many missed serves hurt us. Ooverall I thought we played pretty well but our errors hurt us." Waubonsie let a Game 1 lead, and the match, slip away against York, but rebounded to beat Neuqua Valley for the second time in two days, 25-19, 25-23 in the third-place match. "We were hoping to see Benet in the championship match to see how we matched up but I'm sure we'll see them down the line," said Warriors coach Kristen Stuart. Stuart switched up to a 6-2 on Saturday, setter Rachel Minarick stepping up with 13 kills against Neuqua. "We tried a lot of different things to figure our our best lineup," Stuart said. "Rachel did a great job hitting. I think we'll be using that option more." Congratulations to Sheila Doyle (First Team), Natalie Canulli, Brittany Kmieciak, and Caroline Wolf on making PrepVolleybal.com defensive dandies!
To make the team PrepVolleyball says you "Had to be generally considered among the best 10 defensive players in her state regardless of class year or school classification" This is what PrepVolleyball had to say about each player: Sheila Doyle, Sr., Benet Academy (Lisle, Illinois) – Doyle was an All-State First Team selection and was named the Daily Herald’s Player of the Year after amassing 375 digs last fall for the 40-2 Redwings. She also earned national honors from PrepVolleyball.com and Volleyball Magazine. Doyle, who plays club for 1st Alliance 18 Silver, will play this coming season at North Carolina. “Sheila is an extremely aggressive defender whose quickness and ability to read hitters is at an elite level,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “She is extremely vocal on the court and plays with a high level of confidence. She was our leader of our defense and one of the leaders of our team.” Doyle helped Benet win a pair of Class 4A state titles. “Sheila will have the chance to be a difference maker from Day 1 of her career at North Carolina,” Baker added. Natalie Canulli, Soph., Benet Academy (Lisle, Illinois) – The 5-8 Canulli, who recently verbally committed to Penn State, was a member of the Benet Academy state-championship team this past season and plays for the Sports Performance 16 Elite club team. “Natalie is one of the most physically balanced athletes in our program, touching 9’8”,” Sports Performance’s Erik Vogt said. “She easily could play outside on our 16-1 team.” As of press time, she was averaging 3.82 digs per set and passes at a 54% perfect clip for her club team. Brittany Kmieciak, Sr., Benet Academy (Lisle, Illinois) – Benet coach Brad Baker noted the 5-6 Kmieciak is “one of the best defenders in our state that no one knew about.” She was part of the 2012 Class 4A state title team. “She played three rotations for us but would have played libero on 99% of all teams in our state,” Baker added. “Brittany’s positive attitude was contagious for our team and her commitment to winning and working hard was as strong as any player I have coached.” Caroline Wolf, Jr., Benet Academy (Lisle, Illinois) – Wolf, who plays club for Sports Performance and is committed to Wake Forest, is an extremely high-energy player, says Benet coach Brad Baker. “She plays defense with no regard to her body. She is all over the floor. Her quickness and speed allows her to cover a large part of the court. “Caroline has gotten to be an elite defender by spending countless hours in the gym. She has high goals for herself and has worked as hard as any player in our gym to make her goals a possibility.” Congratulations to Nicole Barnes, Cara Mattaliano, and Shelia Doyle for being named Prepvolleyball.com Academic All-Americans!!
Here is what Prepvolleyball.com had to say about the players that made the the list: “Volleyball players, as a whole, are a talented bunch who excel both on the court and in the classroom. Here are the best of the best at combining big brains and athletic brawn, our 2012 PrepVolleyball.com High School Volleyball Academic All American list.” Congratulations to Hannah Kaminsky (1st Team) and Sheila Doyle (Special Mention) for being named Prepvolleyball.com High School All-Americans!
Congratulations to Sheila Doyle (1st Team) and Hannah Kaminsky (3rd Team) for being named Volleyball Magazine High School All-Americans!
Both Sheila (North Carolina) and Hannah (Southern IL) were members of the 2011 and 2012 4A State Championship teams. The 2011 team went 39-3 and the 2012 team finished 40-2, with both teams finished ranked in the top 15 in the nation. Link to article ORMAL — Call it two the hard way.
Counted out at the beginning of the year, down a game in both matches this weekend at Redbird Arena, No. 1-ranked Benet stormed back Saturday to beat New Trier 21-25, 25-22, 25-17 to repeat as Class 4A champion. Redwings senior outside Cara Mattaliano, who didn’t even dress at state last year, carried her team home with 21 kills — including Benet’s last 4 points of a riveting second game and match point in the third. “I wanted to win, I knew my teammates wanted to win and I gave it everything I had,” Mattaliano said. “Nobody thought we would do anything this year.” Benet (40-2) graduated four Division I players, lost 10 seniors and 95 percent of its offense from last year’s state champs. Repeat? Well, yes. Benet becomes the first back-to-back champion of the state’s largest class since Mother McAuley in 1994-95, and the first 4A repeat champ since the state expanded to four classes in 2007. The Redwings won their last 24 matches and didn’t drop one all year when at full strength. “We graduated everybody. Nobody expected us to be here,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “Nobody except the kids who are here today. They made it happen.” Benet had not dropped so much as a game since Oct. 13 until Friday’s semifinal against Libertyville, when the Redwings rallied from down a game and 15-10 in the second. Saturday’s situation seemed even more dire. Against a big New Trier team after its first title since the state’s inaugural tournament in 1975, Benet seemed tentative in committing 8 errors to drop Game 1. Then it trailed 20-16 in the second after a kill by Trevians’ 6-foot-3 Virginia-bound middle Haley Fauntleroy. Kills by Rachael Fara and Mattaliano allowed Benet to creep closer, and the Redwings took a 21-20 lead on a kill by sophomore Natalie Canulli. With senior Nicki Barnes unable to go most of the match because of a foot injury suffered Friday, Canulli came off the bench with 4 big kills. “When you have an opportunity, you want to take advantage of it,” Baker said, “and she did.” Fauntleroy tied it again at 22-22, but Mattaliano followed with a kill, then dropped in a pair of off-balance tip kills that somehow dropped just in over the block. “That was luck,” Mattaliano admitted. “I don’t know. I knew it was open.” Benet became the first team to beat New Trier (39-2) in a full match this year. The Trevians dropped a three-gamer played to 15 against Lyons Twp. during the season. Brittani Steinberg, who had 15 kills Friday against Mother McAuley, put down 17 Saturday. Eight of New Trier’s 20 errors came in Game 3. “We weren’t making the adjustments we needed and then we started playing tentative,” New Trier coach Hannah Hsieh said. “They started to play with more confidence, with more rhythm.” Baker had a hard time explaining his team’s slow starts, which dated back to the supersectional win over Edwardsville. He even adjusted his lineup Saturday to compensate. “It was like Jekyll and Hyde,” he said. “We were going to lose that match. And then our kids wouldn’t let us lose.” Indeed, much like Friday against Libertyville, Benet controlled Game 3 from the get-go. A block by Fara was followed by a Mattaliano kill and a New Trier hitting error. Consecutive kills by Benet setter Hannah Kaminsky made it 5-0. The margin grew as wide as 16-7 on another Mattaliano tip kill and a kill by Brittany Pavich, one of her 9, made it 23-15. Kaminsky, remarkably, finished her Benet career undefeated in tournament matches dating back to freshman year. “It’s like I said Friday, we have that fight in us that we’re not going to lose,” said Kaminsky, who had 33 assists. “Everything we worked for happened. We proved everybody wrong and I’m so happy.” NORMAL — Knocked down but never out, defending state champion Benet is still standing.
Down a game and 15-10 in the second to Libertyville, the Redwings answered the bell to pull out a 20-25, 25-21, 25-13 win in Friday’s Class 4A semifinal at Redbird Arena. “Anytime you come down here you gotta expect to go three games, and that’s what we want. We want to turn it into a slugfest,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “If we’re going to be here for an hour and a half, that’s fine with us. They pushed us and we were able to fight back and pull it out.” Benet (39-2) will play for its second straight state championship at 8:55 p.m. today against New Trier, which earlier Friday knocked off Mother McAuley. A win and Benet would become the first repeat champion in the state’s largest class since McAuley in 1994-95. Few expected the Redwings to be in this position before the year. Benet senior setter Hannah Kaminsky spoke like someone playing with a chip on her shoulder. “We have a lot of fight — we’re doing this for each other,” said Kaminsky, whose 32 assists pushed her over 1,000 for the season. “We want to prove ourselves. We weren’t even ranked that high at the start of the season and now we’re playing for a state championship. We want to go out on top tomorrow.” On the heels of New Trier’s upset of Mother McAuley, Libertyville was poised to pull another surprise. The Wildcats took advantage of 11 Benet errors in Game 1 they never trailed in. Libertyville led by 21-14 at one point, and a dump shot by Michigan-bound setter Cindy Zhou gave her team game point. A pair of Jordan Bauer kills on Benet overpasses had the Wildcats ahead 15-10, 10 points from their first win at state. Libertyville took fourth in 2007. “We came out strong, we were passing the ball well and moving it around and our hitters were aggressive,” Wildcats coach Greg Loika said. “We really dictated tempo all the way into Game 2.” Benet hadn’t lost a game since Oct. 13 against Joliet Catholic at Autumnfest and had dropped six games all year coming in. Clearly the unfamiliar position didn’t faze the Redwings in volleyball’s biggest setting. At 15-10 in the second Cara Mattaliano put down a kill to give Benet back serve, and the Redwings proceeded to roll off 8 more points in a row with Brittany Pavich at the line. A kill by Abby Willett on a slide play capped off a lengthy rally, giving Benet its first lead of the match at 16-15. The Redwings, perhaps a step slow defensively early on, called on its hallmark scrap to get out of the hole. Mattaliano, a senior who was at state last year but didn’t play, felt her team’s pace pick up. “It fook us a while to get into rhythm,” said Mattaliano, who had 12 kills and 18 digs. “We finally got to the point where we just weren’t going to let any balls drop. Our will to win, it pushed us forward.” “I think our communication picked up too,” added Benet libero Sheila Doyle. A Nicki Barnes kill and Libertyville double contact violation capped off the 9-0 run. Pavich’s kill on another slide, one of her 11 kills for the match, gave Benet game point. Much like Benet in Game 1, Libertyville was its worst enemy to start the third game. The Wildcats gave Benet 7 of its first 11 points off unforced errors, 3 coming on net serves. The third net serve made it 11-7, and Pavich followed with an ace to start a 7-0 service run. “Volleyball’s definitely a game of momentum,” Libertyville’s Kristen Webb said. “It was definitely frustrating when we couldn’t finish off Game 2.” “When Benet was able to dictate tempo they were able to go on some long service runs,” Loika added, “and they felt like ages.” A clever dump shot by Kaminsky made it 18-7. She earlier had a block and put down a kill off a Libertyville overpass, looking like she had an extra spring in her step. “It was definitely adrenaline,” Kaminsky said. “I kind of noticed that they were pushing back. I trust my hitters and I don’t usually dump that much. But if it’s open I’m gonna go for it.” Barnes and Rachael Fara each had 6 kills for Benet. Zhou had 7 kills and 21 assists, Rhiannon Prentiss 7 kills and Julia Smagacz 6 for Libertyville. “I’m really proud of the girls for hanging in there against a really good Benet team,” Loika said. “Benet just started playing better, started passing better and we made mistakes.” Lemont threw some pretty good defense against Benet in Thursday’s Class 4A sectional final at Neuqua Valley.
“They’re in the sectional final for a reason,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “They play great defense, not just good. They’re a great defensive team. They make you earn points. Which we did.” Benet earned points in bunches Tuesday, using a 16-5 run in Game 1 to pull away from a 5-5 tie and closing Game 2 on a 15-5 run to advance to Saturday’s supersectional at Normal Community West with a 25-14, 25-15 victory. Cara Mattaliano led the Redwings (37-2) with 10 kills and 10 digs, Hannah Kaminsky added 25 assists, 6-foot-3 junior middle Brittany Pavich contributed six kills and an ace, and Nicki Barnes had five kills and three aces. Kiley Rendak paced Lemont (26-13) with five kills and Cara Howell, Kelly Ferguson and Ali Lund each had four. Megan Litoborski contributed 14 assists for the Indians, who made Benet work for everything they got. “That was the best defensive game I’ve ever seen us play,” Lemont coach Chris Zogata said. “The girls played so hard on defense. Just the fact that we stayed in rallies defensively was awesome. We really were going to make them earn every point. “It’s very hard with their size and our size to match up,” she added. “You just try to keep in it defensively, serve tough and do the best you can.” Ferguson’s kill had Lemont even at 5-5 early in Game 1 when a Pavich slam from the pin, back-to-back aces by Barnes and a block by Kaminsky allowed Benet to open up a 10-5 lead. Pavich, 6-3 sophomore Rachael Fara and 5-11 senior middle Abby Willett combined for nine kills in Game 1, but in Game 2 Kaminsky rediscovered Mattaliano on the outside. The 6-1 senior did not disappoint, pounding six kills as part of 10-2 run that broke a 10-10 tie. “The coaches really emphasize with me that if a player is hot to keep going to them,” Kaminsky said. “It clicked in my head that Cara was getting a kill every time she got the ball, so I kept going to her.” Most teams have trouble matching up with Benet’s middles, but at 6-1, Mattaliano was another matchup problem for Lemont. “What are you to do against them?” Zogata said. “They’re a small collegiate volleyball team.” The sectional championship was the fourth in six years for Benet, but the Redwings have lost in the supersectional twice during that span. “We know we have to work hard, we know we have to get on the floor and we know we have to pound the ball,” Mattaliano said. “Tonight, they (Lemont) were picking everything up. We just had to think of new shots and hit it harder, hit it to different places and just stay in the game.” The supersectional appearance will be the first for Mattaliano, Willett, Fara and Barnes, who did not suit up during Benet’s run to the 2011 state title. “It’s awesome,” Mattaliano said. “Any time you’re in the supersectional, it’s amazing. We want to keep going.” Daily Herald by Josh Welge
It wasn’t exactly the start Benet’s girls had in mind. Turns out, it didn’t bother them a bit. The No. 1-ranked Redwings dug an early 12-5 first-set hole against No. 6 Naperville Central in Thursday’s Class 4A Naperville Central regional final but had all the answers after that in a 25-18, 25-20 win. Early-match jitters? Perhaps. Shaken confidence? Never. “We never doubted ourselves,” said Benet senior libero Sheila Doyle, who had 11 digs. “It was our first good, tough match in the playoffs, and on their home court. It was overwhelming at first, but it was impressive how we stayed composed. We showed how tough we are mentally.” Benet (35-2), which advances to play West Aurora in a Tuesday sectional semifinal at Neuqua Valley, gave Naperville Central (28-9) 7 of its first 11 points on unforced errors. A kill by Redhawks middle Phoebe Havenaar made it 12-5, and triggered a Benet timeout. Out of the break the Redwings snapped off a 12-2 run and were in control from there. Cara Mattaliano had 5 of her 11 kills during that stretch, Brittany Pavich 2 and Rachael Fara and Nicki Barnes 1 each. “It was 12-5, but looking at the kids they didn’t look worried,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “We knew we had a run in us.” Benet also had the confidence of a team that has had the upper hand in the rivalry of late. The Redwings have won the last eight meetings against Naperville Central, their last loss in the 2007 playoffs. Benet twice beat the Redhawks during this regular season without dropping a set. A pair of Hannah Kaminsky aces touched off an 8-2 start to the second set. It got to 19-12 before Naperville Central mounted a late rally. The Redhawks got to within 23-19, but Kaminsky answered with a two-hand blind bump and fed Pavich for a quick hitter at match point. “They have fresh history on their side. I think when they got down they still felt comfortable,” Redhawks coach Brie Isaacson said. “Momentum is one of the biggest things in volleyball. We lost the momentum and we didn’t catch it again until late in the second set.” The familiarity between the two teams seemed to help Benet, particularly with its strategy serving. Naperville Central’s big hitters were a concern of Baker, but they couldn’t get going without a spot-on first pass. “They changed their lineup coming into this regional and then did again tonight,” Baker said, “but we had a specific game plan with every rotation who we were serving to. If we didn’t, it was a mistake.” Pavich had 6 kills, Nicki Barnes 4 and sophomore Rachael Fara 4 for Benet. When the Redwings needed a point, it seemed like it could run its middles Pavich and Fara at will. Pavich had a pair of kills sandwiched around an Alysia Baznik kill for the Redhawks to stem a late Naperville Central rally. “Brittany and Rachael are amazing middles. I have so much confidence in them,” said Benet setter Kaminsky, who had 25 assists. “I can’t believe how far they have come this year.” Baznik had 4 kills and a block, Sammy Condon 5 kills and Connors 3 kills and 2 blocks. Those are three of Isaacson’s nine seniors, Baznik and Condon four-year starters. Playing Benet in a regional final, part of a controversial sectional shakeup, was probably still a bitter pill tough to swallow. “What’s sad is that kids have worked so hard — they are the ones who lost out on the opportunity,” Isaacson said. “To have to play Benet in a regional final, forget all the other people involved, it’s unfair to the athletes playing the game. But my kids, they fought hard from the first point to the 50th. To me that’s what I will remember, not the loss.” Benet Volleyball Wins Autumnfest Tournament!
Benet’s girls are going to need a spare closet for all their tournament champion T-shirts. Nine straight tournament titles. A 45-match tournament win streak. One impressive run. The Redwings three-peated at Glenbard East’s Autumnfest on Saturday in Lombard, beating Mother McAuley 26-24, 25-16 in the championship match. Tournament MVP Sheila Doyle had 10 digs, Brittany Pavich 8 kills, Rachael Fara and Nicki Barnes 5 and Abby Willett 4 — including match point — for Benet (31-2), who hasn’t lost a tournament match since the 2010 Mizuno Cup final against Joliet Catholic. Senior setter Hannah Kaminsky, who has never lost a tournament match in high school, dished out 27 assists. “It’s unbelievable — we’re so lucky,” Doyle said. “Some teams don’t even get to be at this point. We’ve worked really hard and it’s paid off.” Like it did in all three of its matches Saturday, Benet got stronger as the match progressed. The Redwings trailed throughout a close first set against McAuley, taking its first lead since 1-0 at 22-21 on a Cara Mattaliano block. The two teams played to three more ties, until Mattaliano’s kill off a block got Benet to set point up 25-24. A McAuley hitting error ended it. Earlier in the day, Benet dropped its first set in tournament matches this year, against Joliet Catholic in the semis. The Redwings roared back for a 21-25, 25-5, 25-19 win, after beating Crystal Lake South 25-20, 25-12 in the quarterfinals. “We knew we were going to play three matches today and be here for how many hours,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “We wanted to play our best ball at the end.” Both teams intentionally float-served short throughout the championship match to take away their opponents’ middle and make it a pin-player game, but that didn’t stop Pavich from stepping up late. Leading 14-13 in the second, Pavich’s block gave Benet back serve. After a Barnes smash, Pavich delivered a kill into the back corner then punctuated a big 5-0 run with a thunderous kill and 19-13 lead. “I thought our passing was spot-on,” Pavich said. “That helped Hannah get the sets to me.” Barnes earlier had a pair of kills to get Benet out of a 9-4 hole in the first set. “We did a great job running our offense fast,” Barnes said. “Although we did rely on our outsides a lot we kept it at a fast pace. That’s a pace a lot of teams can’t keep up with. I’m just looking for seams. I know I’m not tall enough to just go up there and pound it.” McAuley (26-3), which also lost to Benet in the 2010 Autumnfest final, never got closer. The young Mighty Macs start five sophomores, drawing from a Michio Chicago 15 National team that won the USAV 15 Open championship last summer. “We didn’t attack as well as we need to,” McAuley coach Jen DeJarld said. “Game 2, we just never got in sync. We lost the ebb and flow we had in Game 1.” BY PHIL BROZYNSKI
There are times in a volleyball match when everything comes together perfectly – the perfect serve receive becomes the perfect pass. The perfect pass becomes the perfect set. The perfect set leads to an indefensible attack. And every block and defensive play creates another opportunity. How else can you explain Benet’s first set against Lincoln-Way Central in the championship match of the Mizuno Scholastic Cup tournament Saturday at the Great Lakes Center in Aurora? “It was magical,” Benet’s senior setter Hannah Kaminsky said. Whatever spell the Redwings cast over the Knights in the first set wore off in the second, but Benet still had enough cards up its sleeve to mesmerize Lincoln-Way Central 25-5, 25-19 and claim its third tournament title of the season. Cara Mattaliano led Benet (24-2) with 11 kills. Nicki Barnes (block, ace) and Brittany Pavich (two blocks) each had six kills, Kaminsky added 28 assists and libero Sheila Doyle had 12 digs, two assists and a kill. Benet closed the first set on a 17-1 run after a kill by Lincoln-Way Central’s Maria Brown (three kills) had the Knights (20-6) within 8-4. “We did a really good job of staying focused throughout the whole first game and I think that helped us,” Doyle said. “We didn’t carry it over into the second game as much as we should have, but I think that was a good way for us to come out and feel comfortable and be OK in a championship match.” A kill by 6-foot-3 middle Amanda Dolan (three kills, two blocks) pulled Lincoln-Way Central even with Benet at 14-14 in the second set, but a 7-2 spurt by the Redwings capped by a Mattaliano kill all but banished the Knights to a runner-up finish. “We actually had a really great weekend, but our first game against Benet we didn’t push hard enough,” Dolan said. “We didn’t connect. But every other game we did perfect. Everything is finally clicking. Our whole team works hard in practice and in every game we work harder. This is great.” Lincoln-Way Central reached the championship match by defeating No. 3 seed Hinsdale South 27-25, 25-18 in the quarterfinals and No. 2 seed Joliet Catholic 25-18, 25-11 in the semifinals. “I can’t even talk about the first set (against Benet), but the girls battled back and they fought and that’s how we need to approach the rest of the season,” Lincoln-Way Central coach Kathy Sulkowski said. “We’re right there with the really great teams, we just need to keep pushing. “We haven’t peaked yet, but we know that we have to keep pushing and keep moving on,” she added. Joliet Catholic (23-4) bounced back from its semifinal loss to edge Naperville Central (20-6) 27-25, 25-16 for third place. “Plain and simple, they (the Knights) played their butts off and they deserved to win that match,” Joliet Catholic coach Chris Scheibe said. “They played really hard. They came out and they wanted it and we just couldn’t keep up with them. They were the better team in that match.” Naperville North (18-7) defeated Edwardsville (20-6) 254-13, 25-23 for fifth place, and Bloomington (18-8) outlasted Hinsdale South (17-7) 27-29, 26-24, 27-25 for seventh place. St. Charles East rallied to beat Prairie Ridge 20-25, 25-15, 25-20 to win the Silver division. Daily Herald Article WHEATON CLASSIC - Gold Division Full Results Gold Flight Benet d. Naperville Central 25-14, 25-22 Hinsdale South d. Libertyville 29-31, 25-20, 25-20 Marist d. Lemont 25-10, 25-12 Sandburg d. Naperville Central 25-14, 25-22 Consolation Libertyville d. Lemont 25-15, 25-14 Naperville Central d. Naperville North 25-23, 25-17 Semifinals Benet d. Sandburg 25-18, 24-26, 25-17 Marist d. Hinsdale South 25-15, 25-23 7th place: Naperville North d. Lemont 25-19, 25-16 5th place: Libertyville d. Naperville Central 25-18, 21-25, 25-23 3rd place: Hinsdale South d. Sandburg 25-19, 12-25, 26-24 Championship: Benet d. Marist 25-20, 25-16 Congratulations to the varsity volleyball team on going 5-0 to win the Benet Invite. The program has won the invite two years in a row and five of the last six years. By winning the tournament over the weekend the program has now won seven straight tournaments (six regular season and the 2011 postseason) in a row. The team has not lost a tournament since finishing 2nd at the Mizuno Cup in October of 2010.
Daily Herald Article Congratulations to Shelia Doyle, Annie Ferlmann and Shannon O'Brien for being named to the PrepVolleyball.com "Defensive Dandies" which recognizes the best defensive players in the nation. Here is what PrepVolleyball had to say about each one.
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