Girls Volleyball: Sophomore Kyla Kenney comes through in the clutch for Benet

OSWEGO – Kyla Kenney is one of what might be the youngest set of hitters in the state.

They also may be the best.

Benet plays three sophomore attackers, Kenney one of them. A fourth, Ann Marie Remmes, is a freshman.

"We don't care how old you are," Benet coach Brad Baker said. "Just get the job done."

Kenney sure did Thursday.

She had five straight kills, then hustled for a dig to set up fellow sophomore Caitlin Wepfer's kill at match point as the top-seeded Redwings beat eighth-seeded Minooka 25-16, 25-23 in the Class 4A Oswego East Regional.

"It's nice to know that my team trusts me with the ball," said Kenney, a Wheaton resident. "This feels good."

It sure did.

Benet (32-5), which advances to play Waubonsie Valley in Monday's sectional semifinal at Plainfield North, has bigger priorities than winning a regional.

Beating Minooka was nice redemption, though.

The Indians beat Benet in last year's sectional final en route to taking second in 4A for the second straight year.

"Definitely revenge, we wanted it," said Benet senior setter Ally Van Eekeren, a Creighton recruit.

Kenney had 10 kills, sophomore Rachel Muisenga five kills and Wepfer three for Benet. Hattie Monson had 12 digs and Van Eekeren 26 assists.

For Minooka (25-12), sophomore Heidi Bonde had six kills, Bella Alessio five kills and 12 digs, Nicole Kijowski 12 digs and Zoey Saput 21 assists.

The second set was still hanging in the balance, when a Muisenga kill and a Minooka net violation tied it 19-19.

Kenney, on the ensuing point, whistled a kill down the line from the left pin, then drove another one off the block. Bonde and Desiree Anderson kills got Minooka back to 22-22, but from there Kenney finished off a long rally by rifling a shot that was tipped down the line.

"In those big matches eventually it's going to go through outsides," Baker said. "Our outsides have done it all year. Depending on who is blocking, we definitely though Kyla could go over."

It was indeed no coincidence that Kenney's number kept getting called.

"We saw their middle back was staying more toward the middle of the court," Van Eekeren said. "I knew she could go line. We work on that practice all the time."

The matchup seemed more suited for one later on in the postseason, particularly with how Minooka came to play in the second set.

The two teams were back and forth, Minooka going ahead 16-14 on an Alessio ace and again 19-16.

"It could have gone either way," Minooka coach Carrie Prosek said. "First set, we came out a little nervous. I have a young team, for most of them this if the first time playing in the postseason except my setter.

"But I'm proud with how we played in the second set."

Both teams are indeed young, but Benet's not exactly inexperienced in big matches.

Kenney, for one, played the entire sectional semifinal match as a freshman. She didn't play in the Minooka match last year.

"All four of us seniors really worked to keep them up with practice," Van Eekern said. "We pushed them and they've totally caught up."

Muisenga, another sophomore, keyed two long point runs in the first set. She was on serve when Benet jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, serving two aces, then was at it again on Benet's 6-0 run that broke an 11-11 tie.

Kenney had two blocks and smashed a Minooka overpass during that stretch.

"Rachel was hitting some really good serves, they were going deep and they were hard to read," Baker said. "At one point we didn't care who Rachel was serving to because she was just ripping them."

While Minooka fell short of the last two years's achievements, Prosek is well set for the future with girls like the 6-foot-3 sophomore Bonde back.

"I'm proud of the way they didn't shut it down after the first set," Prosek said. "It's exciting to see where we can go next year."