Girls volleyball state preview

Updated: November 10, 2011 7:11PM

If familiarity breeds contempt, there could be a lot of chippiness when Benet and St. Charles East meet in a Class 4A semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the IHSA state tournament at Redbird Arena.

The meeting will be the fourth between the two teams this season. Benet has won the previous three.

“It’s going to be a bloodbath,” Redwings outside hitter Jenna Jendryk said. “We especially want to beat them because they beat us at state in 2008, and they want to beat us just as much.”

Benet (37-3) has won 18 consecutive matches since a 13-25, 26-24, 25-22 loss to Marist on October 6.

“We have been using that game as motivation,” Benet middle hitter Meghan Haggerty said.

Meanwhile, St. Charles East (34-6) advanced by knocking off former No. 1-ranked York in the sectional finals. Outside hitter Meghan Niski has been a one-person wrecking crew for the Saints, collecting 12 kills in a supersectional win over Glenbrook South after torching York for 18 kills.

In the 9 p.m. semifinal, Marist (34-6) will try to prevent Cary-Grove (36-4) from making its third consecutive championship match appearance. Juniors Mallory Salis, Kelly Marcinek and Elyse Panick pace the Redhawks, while 6-1 Ashley Rosch powers the Trojans.

Class 3A

St. Francis (34-6) has the unenviable task of derailing Breese Mater Dei (37-3) when the two teams meet today at 4:30 p.m. The Spartans are making their first semifinal appearance since 2007.

“It has been heartwarming to receive messages of support from St. Francis volleyball alumni from the past four decades,” St. Francis coach Peg Kopec said.

In the other semifinal at 6 p.m., Marian Central (34-6) will be making its second consecutive semifinal appearance opposite Marian Catholic (23-16), which has not been to state since 2002.

Abby Gilleland, one of eight returning Central players, believes experience will help.

Class 2A

Defending state champion Chicago Christian (22-18) will face Breese Central (32-8) in its 1:30 p.m. semifinal.

The Cougars will be seeking to avenge their loss to the Knights in the 2010 title match. But Chicago Christian has been in tight spots before, including its three-set win over Timothy Christian in the supersectional.

“I’ve got to hand it to my veterans,” Chicago Christian coach James Garcia said. “After that first game against Timothy, they really buckled down. I was getting frustrated because I know they could play better. They took charge in the huddle and really pulled it together.”

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.