Benet crawls back in second set to secure victory over St. Charles North to claim sectional title

WEST AURORA — The players on the Benet volleyball team found themselves in a situation they hadn't seen a whole lot in the second set.

Losing, and quite convincingly.

After beating St. Charles North in straight sets in each of their first two meetings, and already up a set in Thursday's sectional finals, the Redwings found themselves down 22-16, and on the verge of losing just their fourth set on the year.

And yet, it didn't seem to faze the top-ranked team in the state.

"When you have a team that's mature and older and they've been in these situations before, you've got to continue to stick with it and keep playing," head coach Brad Baker said. "You've got to throw the scoreboard away and try to get one point at a time."

The Redwings did exactly that, crawling their way to tie the game at 24-24 before securing a 28-26 victory in the second set to secure the victory (25-18, 28-26) for their third straight sectional title Thursday.

"Our mindset just didn't change throughout the entire match, whether we're down or up," Baker said. "We've still got to make the same plays and do the same things. And we just had to finish the match there at the end, and we did."

Benet will have a chance to advance to state for the third year in a row when they face New Trier in the supersectionals Monday. The Trevians took down Loyola, the only team to beat Benet this season, in straight sets to claim the sectional title.

Leading the way for the Redwings (38-1) in the game was senior Brooklynne Brass, who finished the game with 13 kills. Brass, along with senior Keira O'Donnell (seven kills) secured key kills while North was on set point to keep the set alive.

"We just started worrying about our side a little bit more," the Maryland commit said. "In the huddle we realized that we were feeding off of their energy and not doing it on our own. So I felt like as soon as we started getting hyped off our own points and going all out, I think that's when we switched and started going off."

Brass, who transferred to the Redwings from Minooka prior to the season, said that part of her success came from the chemistry the team has developed throughout the season.

"We trust in each other," Brass said. "We know that the back row is going to get a good pass and the setter is going to get a good set so all our hitters are going to get good opportunities for kills. I just feel like us working together on offense is just how we play."

Despite the loss, St. Charles North coach Lindsey Hawkins said she was proud of how the team fought and how during the match, especially after losing their first two matches against the Redwings earlier in the season.

"We've just gotten better and better each time that we played them, and we have progressively gotten better as the season has gone on," Hawkins said. "They had all the confidence in the world walking into the gym, even with everyone telling us that we couldn't beat them. You never would have known that walking into the gym. They did not believe at all that they would lose."

Junior Haley Burgdorf put the North Stars on her back, especially in the second set. The Penn State commit finished the match with 20 kills, including 15 in the second set alone.

"The kid is just amazing, and she deserves all the accolades coming her way," Hawkins said. "It uplifts all the girls too because they start feeding off the energy and the good that she's doing."

The North Stars finished the season with a 32-7 record. While Hawkins says the loss hurts now, she knows that with the amount of returners she'll have next season could be a sign for special things in the near future.

"We're a young team, and I think that's awesome," Hawkins said. "With Haley and Mia (McCall) leading them next season, it's going to be amazing. We're mourning right now because the group of seniors was unlike anything that I've had, but we're very excited about the young kids in our program."