Benet match stats
Billy Aukstik    18 digs
Bill Foran        16 kills
Ben Steele      33 assists


Volleyball is a game of momentum.

That was never more evident than during Benet’s 29-27, 15-25, 27-25 win over visiting St. Francis Wednesday.

The Redwings (11-5) trailed late in both of the games they won but regained the edge that led to their biggest win of the season.

“We had (the momentum) in the first game but let it go in the second and had to find it again,” Benet head coach Amy Van Eekeren said. “Each big play kept it going.”

Benet was down 21-17 late in the third game, just as it trailed late in the first game, but found its groove in the late going.

Bill Foran floored a kill that forced sideout and made it 21-18, then Benet scored four straight points to take a 22-21 lead. St. Francis tied the proceedings at 22-22 and later led 24-23 and 25-24, but Benet wasn’t done.

Another Foran kill tied the game at 24-24 and Jack Garvin tied things at 25-all. Mike Quigley had back-to-back kills as the Redwings won the game and the match.

“In the second game we got down and kind of lost the momentum,” Quigley said. “But in the third game we came out and we knew we were going to win. We kept pushing and even when they were up 24-23 we knew we were going to pull it out.”

Senior John McCarthy may have provided the spark the Redwings needed when he subbed in late in the third.

“J-Mac, he comes in aggressive and loud and he’s all over the floor,” Van Eekeren said of McCarthy. “That’s exactly what I needed at that time.”

Meanwhile, St. Francis (6-2) needed to overcome crippling mental breakdowns that emerged late in the first and third games.

“Instead of playing tough and playing to win, we started playing not to lose,” St. Francis head coach Mike Lynch said. “In situations like that you have to work through it, learn from it and then the next time you go through it don’t tense up.

“You have to play every point like it’s game point.”

St. Francis led 23-22 and 27-26 in Game 1 but couldn’t close out in that situation, either. After a Spartan service error tied the game at 27-all, Jim Ekins floored a kill that put the Redwings ahead before a St. Francis hitting error ended the opening game.

“This is a confidence builder for us,” Van Eekeren said. “We had some strong play and hopefully we can keep it going.”

-- Benet defeated West Aurora 25-16, 25-15 to cap a 2-3 showing at Glenbard East’s Springfest tournament last Saturday. The Redwings’ other win was a 25-12, 25-15 win over Montini in pool play.

“It was a tough day,” Van Eekeren said. “We couldn’t find our rhythm. We didn’t have all our players and at times we just didn’t play well. We never found any consistency.”
Foran’s 36 kills led the way, followed by Josh Brozek’s 28 and Garvin’s 15. Ben Steele dished 97 assists and Billy Aukstik tallied 60 digs.