Girls volleyball: Lynney Tarnow, Benet down Metea Valley

AURORA – Benet middle hitter Lynney Tarnow approaches every game the same way, regardless of who the opponent is.

“I just always want to get the ball,” Tarnow said. “I always want to put the point away.

“I don’t care how long the rally is. I’m going to transition hard and I want to get that last kill and really put an emphasis, an exclamation point on that last hit.”

The Wisconsin-bound Tarnow delivered a lot of exclamation points on Wednesday, when she led all players with 11 kills and also had two blocks to lead Benet to a 25-21, 26-24 victory over host Metea Valley.

The Redwings make no secret of their intention to feed the 6-foot-5 Tarnow as much as possible, not that it would make a difference if they tried.

“We’re not hiding it from anybody – the kid going to Wisconsin might get the ball a few times,” Benet coach Brad Baker sad. “I think everyone in the gym kind of knows, so there’s no hiding it.”

Knowing about Tarnow and trying to stop her are two different things. The first is easy and the second is, well, exceedingly difficult.

The Mustangs (5-3) were reminded of that again. Tarnow had five of her kills, including the clincher, in the first set.

But she really put on a show in the second set when the Redwings (8-0) needed it most. With her team trailing 8-3, Tarnow ripped off six consecutive kills and did so in a variety of ways.

The first three kills came on typically run plays to the middle, with two power kills followed by a tip. Then came a pair of kills on overpasses.

Tarnow used both hands to press the first one down and got the second on a one-armed, left-handed lunge. That was followed by a backslide kill.

“I kind of just got in the zone,” Tarnow said. “I was like, ‘Anything that crosses this net, I’m not letting it. Or if it does, I’m going to put the kill away.’

“It’s just a killer mindset to go after it. No matter how I’m hitting the ball, I’m just trying to put it away and get the point for my team.”

Colorado-bound senior Audrey Asleson, who shared the setting duties with junior Ellie Stiernagle, a Northwestern recruit, has plenty of weapons she can use but is comforted knowing she has a big bopper in the middle.

“She always comes ready to play and compete,” Asleson said. “I can always trust her to put the ball away. She’s super positive and brings good energy to the team.”

So Asleson had no qualms about doing what everyone expected.

“She had the hot hand,” Asleson said. “She was scoring pretty much every time, so we kept going back to her.”

And yet, the Mustangs nearly forced a third set, rallying to take a 21-17 lead. Tarnow tied the game at 21 with a block, but the Mustangs held a set point at 24-23.

Stiernagle responded by feeding Asleson for a kill and then finishing the match with an ace.

“We kind of beat ourselves a little bit tonight,” Metea Valley coach Dave Macdonald said. “A couple hitting errors and service errors toward the end, but we played our hearts out.

“They gave it all they got and that’s all we ask for. I’m very proud.”

Maddie Hoskins paced Metea with nine kills, while Addison Torain and Olivia Stewart each added five kills and Katie Schuele had 18 assists.

Asleson had three kills and 11 assists for Benet, which also got three kills, six assists and three aces from Stiernagle, 10 digs from Indiana-bound libero Aniya Warren and eight service points from Taylor Kunka.

It’s hard to stand out on a team that has so many NCAA Division I recruits, but Tarnow is literally several inches taller than everyone else.

“She’s really talented,” Baker said. “She keeps getting better.

“We hope that as the season goes along, that’s a trend that we see. She’s gotten better during the first seven matches and we hope by the end of the season that’s she’s even better than she is right now.”