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Thanks to experience and hard work personally and around her, third-year varsity senior Jenny Buehler is enjoying her best statistical season with the Downers Grove North girls volleyball team.
“This team as a whole has helped me improve a lot and we also just push each other to be the best we can be,” said Buehler, a 6-foot outside hitter. ”It’s my last season, last time playing volleyball so I’m amping it up and going all out every game. By trying my best each game, and my team helps me get there, that helps me become better.”
Buehler and the Trojans are on the verge of so much more.
They’re 16-9 and undefeated in West Suburban Conference Silver Division play at 4-0. They’re the No. 1 seed for the Class 4A Willowbrook Sectional as they seek their first regional title since 2021 and first sectional title since their 2018 4A state runner-up team.
Buehler experienced that 2021 regional championship as a freshman postseason call-up.
“Taking a long state run would satisfy my goals and the team’s goals,” Buehler said. “Especially it being a senior season for five (of us), it’s a big motivation to go far in state.”
Libero Abby Gross and right-side hitter Sarah Rutkowski also are returning senior starters. Junior outside hitter Kelley Crowley is in her third varsity season and juniors Nora Benjamins, a 6-1 middle, and back-row Annabel Miller their second. There’s also newcomers like junior Adriana Marsicano, freshman setter Ellery Cabaj and sophomores Nicole Liu, Sienna Shelton and Rylie Marshall.
”We have a lot of experience and a lot of good leaders. I feel like that’s helped us get to a better place,” Benjamins said. “Last year, I was one of the youngest on the team. It’s been really cool to help guide the team to stay focused.”
Averaging 3.9 kills a set, Buehler will surpass her 184 kills from 2023 (2.1 per set). She also leads in service receptions. Other leaders are Benjamins (total blocks and attack percentage), Gross and Rutkowski (digs), Cabaj (assists) and Marsicano (aces).
“It’s just a nice group of experienced players, old and new. We knew we could have a good chance of being very successful,” Downers North coach Mark Wasik said.
Last year, Benjamins’ 73 blocks was No. 1 among documented Silver totals by three.
“It was close. So it was my goal this season to improve my blocking to get ahead in that way,” Benjamins said.
Also a third-year starter, Gross brings versatility and tenacity from being the girls basketball team’s starting point guard.
”She’s just an athlete,” Wasik said. “She’s a competitor. She hates making mistakes. Those are intangibles that help her.”
The ride still hasn’t been smooth. Crowley earned 2023 All-WSC Silver honors and led the team with 238 kills, 32 aces and 473 service receptions. She’s been injured since the loss to Benet Sept. 13 but is expected to return for the postseason.
The following week, the Trojans still finished fifth of 24 teams at the Wheaton Classic. Without Crowley, Trojans are 11-7 with losses only to highly-ranked state or national opponents
.”With Kelley getting injured, a lot of new people were seeing the court and realized their spot on the team and contributed in ways we hadn’t really seen before,” Crowley said. “(The Wheaton Classic) was the first time we played super well as a unit and we all got super excited to go far this year. That was a mentality switch.”
Then came the 25-15, 25-13 victory over two-time defending Silver champion Glenbard West Sept. 24. With this week to rest injuries to Rutkowski (wrist) and Marshall (ankle), the Trojans finish Silver play at Hinsdale Central Oct. 15 and at York Oct. 22.
”Everyone knows their role and how important they are within our team,” Buehler said. “We’re very interchangeable with our lineups so you can put somebody in a different spot and they will do their job.”
Sectional seeds
Several area teams received top-four sectional seeds posted by the IHSA Thursday afternoon.
In 4A, undefeated Benet is the No. 1 seed for the West Aurora Sectional with Glenbard West No. 4. Joining top-seeded Downers North atop the Willowbrook Sectional are No. 2 York and No. 3 Downers Grove South.
For 3A, Wheaton Academy and St. Francis are the No. 1 and 2 seeds for the St. Viator Sectional. Lemont and Hinsdale South are No. 3 and 4 for the St. Laurence Sectional. Fenwick is No. 4 at the St. Ignatius Sectional. Timothy Christian and IC Catholic Prep are the No. 1 and 2 seeds in their sub-sectional of the 2A Marian Central Sectional.