Benet volleyball blasts past Mother McAuley to take Autumnfest title, run record to 33-0

LOMBARD – Benet outside hitters Brooklynne Brass and Keira O’Donnell have a lot of experience playing in big matches, including three previous tournament championship games this season.

But they had never faced Mother McAuley while wearing a Benet uniform.

That changed Saturday at the Glenbard East Autumnfest – and the two transfers didn’t disappoint.

“It was really exciting,” said O’Donnell, a 6-foot-1 senior who transferred from Lemont. “It was more motivation to kind of go up and give it our all.

“This team really wanted to go out there and show them that we want to be the next state champion, so I feel like we kind of stepped up a little bit to the plate on the motivational side.”

They sure did.

Brass, a 5-10 junior who came over from Minooka, led all players with 11 kills, while O’Donnell and 6-5 junior middle Lynney Tarnow each smashed six kills as the Redwings beat the two-time defending state champion Mighty Macs 25-13, 25-22 in the title match.

Brass, a Maryland commit, and the Southern Mississippi-bound O’Donnell combined for eight of Benet’s 12 kills in the lopsided first set.

“We were very excited and pumped up for that match,” O’Donnell said. “That incorporated in the score.”

Benet coach Brad Baker was not surprised by the dominance the Redwings (33-0) displayed in the opener.

“That’s what we expect,” Baker said. “We expect that kind of match and that kind of start, and that’s what we want. We’ve prepared all season for matches just like this.”

Mother McAuley (29-4) had no answer for the power of Brass and O’Donnell on the outside, nor the strength of Tarnow and 6-1 Yale commit Gaby Stasys, who had three blocks, in the middle.

Colorado-bound senior setter Audrey Asleson added 23 assists, two kills and a block and star libero Aniya Warren, an Indiana recruit who was named tournament MVP, had six service points and anchored a great defensive effort by the back line.

“I feel like the defensive will in that first set, from our blocking to digs, we went all out, gave it our all in that first game,” Brass said. “So I’m really proud of how we played today.”

The second set proved to be more of the same, at least initially. A kill from O’Donnell gave the Redwings a 12-7 lead and a Tarnow kill made it 14-9.

But the Mighty Macs, of course, did not go quietly. They rallied behind senior outside Sydney Buchanan, who had three of her nine kills during a 9-2 run that gave McAuley an 18-16 lead.

Three kills from Tarnow and one each from Asleson and O’Donnell helped right the ship, but the set was still up for grabs tied at 22.

That’s when Brass scored a kill off an overpass, giving the serve to Asleson, wo set up Brass and then junior right-side Sophia Chinetti for kills to close out Benet’s fourth tournament title of the season.

“One of our goals as a team is to always play calm no matter what they score is or the big points that are scored by the other team,” O’Donnell said. “We always stay relaxed on our side.”

Mission accomplished.

“That’s something we practice a lot, keeping our level consistent, and even if they’re going on a run, we stay within the game,” Brass said. “I feel we just kept doing what we were doing.”

Now the question is whether the Redwings, who lost to McAuley in the last two Class 4A state championship matches, continue to do so. Baker thinks he hasn’t seen Benet’s best yet.

“In the rallies I think we can play better than what we did there,” Baker said. “I think the girls hold themselves to a high standard and I think their standard is still above what we showed today.”

The Redwings and Mighty Macs would not meet again until the state title match. Saturday’s win, while impressive, doesn’t guarantee anything. Benet beat McAuley in the Autumnfest final last year before McAuley won the state final in three sets.

“I think if we play them again down the road, we’re going to give it our all,” O’Donnell said. “Nothing is set in stone and we’re still going to go out and win every game.”