Redwings reach state final again
Fara’s eight kills help Benet to its fourth consecutive title- match berth
NORMAL — Rachael Fara, Dana Griffin, Tiffany Clark and Marija Cyvas were asked if Benet could play better than it did in the first game of the Redwings’ Class 4A semifinal match Friday against Normal.
“You always think you can play better,” they responded in unison.
Fara had eight kills while Clark and sophomore Veronica Snelling each had seven as Benet advanced to its fourth consecutive state championship by defeating Normal 25- 15, 25- 22 at Redbird Arena.
‘‘ It feels great,’’ Benet coach Brad Baker said. ‘‘ You can’t win a championship unless you’re in it.’’
Benet had the best of it early in Game 1, getting four kills from Snelling to build a 9- 6 lead. An ace by Normal’s Erika Peoples got the Ironmen within 9- 8, but a kill by Griffin, a slide by Fara and a tip by sophomore setter Sara Nielsen ( 23 assists) forced a timeout at 13- 8.
A Normal service error gave Benet ( 40- 1) a 17- 11 lead, and a four- hit violation and a Natalie Canulli ace pushed the lead to 19- 12.
Fara’s kill off a short set made it 20- 13, and she added another to extend the lead 22- 13. The set ended on a Normal hitting miscue.
Snelling got Benet rolling in Game 2 with consecutive kills, and after a block by Marissa Tassone, an ace by Nielsen forced a Normal timeout at 13- 8.
The Ironmen closed to within 14- 12 on a kill by BriannaWooten, and back- to- back violations by the Redwings knotted the set at 15- 15.
Consecutive kills by Fara gave Benet a 17- 15 lead, and Clark andNielsen went backtoback to extend the lead to 19- 15.
Normal ( 35- 5) got within 20- 19 on two Benet errors and tied it at 21- 21 on a block at the pin. But two Tassone blocks and two Ironmen errors ended the match.
‘‘ We’re trying to play with the same mentality whether it’s 0- 0 or 20- 20,’’ Baker said. ‘‘ I feel like we played the same way both games. You just have to continue to push.’’
Machayla Leonard led Normal with eight kills and three blocks and Peoples had 15 assists.
‘‘ I wish we would have come out of the gate a little more and not played so timid in the first game,’’ Normal coach Christine Konopasek said. ‘‘ We didn’t pass well and weren’t able to get our middles as involved as we would have liked.’’
Clark added 13 digs and Canulli had 11 as Benet limited Normal to .078 percent hitting including minus-. 062 percent in Game 1.
‘‘ Being at Benet, I don’t know what it’s like not to get to the state finals,’’ Fara said. ‘‘ But I get butterflies, I get antsy, each time.’’
The Redwings will play Libertyville on Saturday at 8: 55 p. m. for the 4A championship. The Wildcats earned a 21- 25, 25- 22, 25- 11 victory over Loyola in the second semifinal.