Many thought the real final of the Benet Volleyball Invitational would be the semifinal match between Wheaton St. Francis and Joliet Catholic. Some even thought the St. Francis-West Aurora final would be a laugher.
But when St. Francis standout Sara Skryd had a hard time keeping from laughing before her first serve, it wasn`t because of a lack of respect for the Blackhawks. It was because she saw her friend, Sports Performance club teammate Kirstine Jensen, on the other side of the net.
No. 2-rated St. Francis won the title, but not without a struggle. The Spartans escaped 15-10, 15-13, but left knowing their 25-1 record easily could have been 24-2.
”We needed a game like this,” said Spartans coach Peg Kopec. ”We needed a wakeup call for next week with the (Maine West) Pumpkin Tournament and the rest of the season.”
Jensen, a 6-foot senior outside hitter, was one reason West Aurora jolted St. Francis back to reality. After St. Francis took a 10-2 lead in the first game, Jensen led the Blackhawks back within 12-10 before falling.
In the second game, West Aurora was up 9-3 in a hurry. Jensen, who had 10 kills and five blocks in the championship match, helped stymie the Spartans-who didn`t help themselves much, either.
”We were very Christian in the championship,” said Kopec, who thought her team played a little tired. ”In those two games, we gave them the ball 14 times on service mistakes. That`s being a little too generous.”
Once awake but trailing 11-7, St. Francis senior Jennie Driscoll served the Spartans into an 11-11 tie. West Aurora made three errors in the run that switched the momentum back to St. Francis. The Spartans gained match point on a Driscoll kill off a quick set by Skryd, who had 19 assists.
”Personally, I`m really tired,” said Driscoll, who had 17 kills and four blocks. ”When we walked out of this gym last year, some people thought, `Oh, we can`t lose.` We`re getting a little taste of that, but it`s going to go away. We know what we have to do.”
West Aurora (16-5) had to go three games to beat Mendota in the semifinals. The Blackhawks, who have missed three games because of the Elgin teachers strike, are starting to realize their potential.
”This is really going to help us,” said Jensen. ”We never knew we could play this well. When you play against teams that aren`t any better than you are, you don`t get any better.”
Sophomore Kendra Marlowe took over the setting position this weekend for West Aurora and averaged 15 assists in five matches at Benet.
”That was one of the biggest things that happened this weekend,” said coach Heidi Liechty. ”She really came on.
”We`ve had a lot of talent all year long, but we`ve been out of circulation because we`ve missed so many games. We haven`t been able to find out what we can do. We found out a lot at this tournament. We found what works well. I sort of always knew they had it in them, but now we`ve had an opportunity to be tested.”
West Aurora isn`t the only team that left the tourney on a positive note. Joliet Catholic, with Missy Sartorelli getting 57 kills in five games, took third by defeating Mendota 15-8, 15-7.
