Benet pulls away from N. Central in final

In the first set, you couldn't tell the first-seeded girls volleyball team in the sectional from the eighth-seeded team.

The underdog, Naperville Central, battled sectional favorite Benet, point for point Saturday, before a Benet burst at the end gave the Redwings a 25-22 victory.

Benet, last year's Class 4A state runner-up, then carried that momentum through to the second set and scored a 25-8 victory for the Bolingbrook Regional Championship

The Redwings advance to the sectional semifinals Tuesday at Oswego East.

"That first game was great," Benet coach Brad Baker said. "It was back and forth throughout. In fact, no team led by more than two points until the end. But, we like being in that kind of game because it gets you prepared for what's going to happen in the future."

There were 15 ties in the set, the last at 22-22, but then the Benet balanced attack took over in the clutch and scored the last three points on a kill by Gina Finke, a service ace by Alyson Farm and a kill by Lara Ontko to end it.

"Both teams were executing well," said Finke who had eight kills, to share the match lead with teammate Sierra Young. "We did a good job of staying cool under pressure and finished the game well."

By contrast, the last tie in the second set was at 2-2 as the Redwings (33-4) pulled out to a 10-4 lead on the way to the one-sided 25-8 win.

"The way we played in the second game was what we've been seeing in practice over the last week-and-a-half," Baker said. "We had a good game plan and the girls executed it extremely well. We've played this well a lot this year. We're 33-4 for a reason."

"After that tough first game, we know its do-or-die and we just had to work harder. We're big on finishing strong," Finke said.

Kaitlyn King had 22 assists and Brianne Riley had 9 digs for the Redwings.

Naperville Central's first-set performance against Benet was a continuation of the Redhawks' (21-16) first-rate play as they rebounded from a 2-7 start to the season.

"In Game 1, we battled the No. 1 team in the sectional and just came up a few points short. I consider that a win," Naperville Central coach Brie Isaacson said. "We played great defense and we passed well, so we could run any option at any time. In Game 2, we lost a little focus and we just couldn't get it back. Benet is a great team and they just pulled away."

Nicole Sarby led the Redhawks with seven kills and two blocks and Courtney Abrahamovich was the dig-leader with seven.

As the underdog sixth-seed facing third-seeded Naperville North, Waubonsie Valley shot out to an early lead in the first set of the Joliet Township Regional final.

Behind the early strength of Martha Stewart (eight kills), Alexandra Simmons (three blocks), and Nicole Salmon, the Warriors jumped to leads of 6-1 and 13-7.

But the Huskies (30-7), riding the power of outside hitter Audrey Wilson (12 kills), recovered to squeak out a 25-22 first set victory. They closed out the match with a convincing 25-14 win to advance to a Lockport Sectional semifinal on Tuesday.

Naperville North's size and strength around the net appeared to wear the Warriors down, but Salmon didn't agree completely.

"I don't think it had to do with their height," she said. "We got it in out heads that 'they made a good kill, and we won't be able to come back.' We couldn't side out fast enough to push enough points."

Stewart and Simmons again had kills to keep Waubonsie close in the second set at 11-8, and Jill Galovic (12 digs) led the Warriors' defense.

But Carly Warner (13 digs) then served four straight points, aided by some Waubonsie errors, to give North the boost they needed. The Huskies repeatedly went to Wilson, and she delivered with power time after time.

"Instead of just swinging away, we were smarter with our shots," Wilson said. "Our defense was incredible and Alissa (Valentine, 17 assists) played so well. Waubonsie put up a really good fight. It was a really fun game to play."

The Warriors finished their season at 26-11, while the Huskies have a date with second-seeded Hinsdale Central at the sectional.

The Wildcats, seeded fifth in the Lockport Sectional, fell to the fourth-seeded Trojans in the Neuqua Valley Regional final and ended their season at 23-10.

Neuqua was led by Nikki Federico with eight kills. Beth Blackman had 21 assists and Ellie Wojciechowski had 11 digs.

Freelance writer Tom Strong contributed to this report.