Benet's defense leads way to victory

Benet celebrates after scoring the final point to defeat Hinsdale Central on Thursday in the Class 4A Lockport Sectional final.
(Terence Guider-Shaw/For Sun-Times Media)

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LOCKPORT -- Volleyball is often all about passion and adrenaline

And Thursday, top-seeded Benet, turned its passion and adrenaline into superb defense to win the Lockport Township Sectional championship with a 25-23, 25-20 victory over Hinsdale Central, the second-seeded team.

Click to enlarge image

Benet's Lara Ontko spikes the ball over two Hinsdale Central defenders.
(Terence Guider-Shaw/For Sun-Times Media)

Benet libero Brianne Riley led an almost impenetrable defense with 15 digs, many of them from seemingly impossible angles and contorted positions.

"Brianne played lights-out defense for us," said Gina Finke, who led the Redwings with 10 kills. "She was everywhere digging everything."

"Our goal is to go downstate and everyone was pumped up," Riley said.

It was the second victory out of three matches for Benet (35-4) against Hinsdale Central (33-6) this season.

The Redwings now head to the Normal Community Super-Sectional where they will take on Quincy on Saturday at 5 p.m.

"Our defense was outstanding," Benet coach Brad Baker said. "Hinsdale had an extremely hard time scoring points. They play outstanding defense and tonight we turned the tables on them a little."

The match didn't start out too well for the Redwings as they committed six errors in letting Hinsdale Central open up a 9-4 lead in the first set.

Benet finally grabbed the lead for good at 16-15 on a six-point run around Finke's serving.

"When Hinsdale got the lead it was important for us to keep our composure," Finke said. "We've come back in games like that before. We just stay confident and keep swinging. We know the ball will eventually fall for us."

Benet led through most of the second set as Meghan Haggerty dominated in the middle with four kills and three blocks.

"Meghan is so big and she goes up so strong," Finke said. "It's hard for them to it around her."

Sierra Young with six kills and 12 digs, Alyson Farm with three blocks and two kills and Kaitlyn King with 23 assists were also outstanding for the Redwings.

Melissa Marcucci led the Red Devils with seven kills, and Natalia Skiba had four kills and eight digs.

"That was the best defense I've ever seen Benet play," Hinsdale Central coach Sheralynn Kellough said. "They kept a lot of balls in play. I don't think we played as loose as we can. In the second game, we started to over-think."