Fourteen appears to be the magic number for Benet senior Gabija Staniskis.
It was more of a tragic number for Naperville North in the Class 4A Plainfield North Sectional championship match on Wednesday.
“I just got really zoned in because I know how bad I want this,” Staniskis said. “I want this more than anything right now. I just kind of got into autopilot and just kept going.”
Staniskis tied a career high by ripping 14 kills to lead top-seeded Benet to a stunningly lopsided 25-12, 25-17 victory against the third-seeded Huskies.
Now the Redwings (35-4) are going to the Moline Supersectional on Friday, when they will play O’Fallon (32-6) for a berth in the state semifinals.
Just as interesting as where Benet is going is where Staniskis came from. The 6-foot-1 Emory recruit began the season at right-side hitter, which is her natural position.
But the Redwings have another top senior, Kirsten Krammer, at that position. Benet coach Brad Baker wanted to get Staniskis more involved, so he switched her to outside hitter.
“She plays right side in club, so she’s not playing her natural position,” Baker said. “You’ve got to be selfless. You’ve got to buy in, and you’ve got to work hard at it, and she has. The last month we’ve had specific goals for things that she needs to do and work on if she wants to be successful.”
It didn’t take long for Staniskis to adapt. In her first match at outside hitter, she had 14 kills in a loss to St. Charles East on Sept. 7. But that production came in a three-set match.
“It was a little strange considering I play right side in club,” Staniskis said. “But we practice enough and we have great coaches, so they made it an easy transition for me. It took a couple days, but once I got in the groove, I think it was fine.”
Indeed, the Redwings have been rolling ever since. They avenged the loss to the Saints by beating them twice in October and have paid back the Huskies (35-4) for a 25-22, 25-20 defeat on Oct. 8.
“That wasn’t a loss that we had come back from yet, and obviously the playoffs are an even bigger deal because it’s you win or you’re done,” Staniskis said. “I think we all wanted this so bad.”
Xavier-bound senior middle Annie Eschenbach, who had three kills, said Staniskis stoked the Redwings’ fire.
“She was definitely the motivation,” Eschenbach said. “Before the game, we all talked, and we could tell that she was all-in. She really put it all out there. Gabija just played with so much high intensity that she was unstoppable tonight.”
So were the Redwings, who scored the first six points and opened with a 15-3 run, which included four straight kills from Staniskis.
More Top Picks ]
Incredibly, she was just getting started. Sophomore setter Audrey Asleson, who had 27 assists and nine digs, kept feeding Staniskis, who smashed nine kills in the second set, with seven coming after Naperville North took a 10-8 lead.
Staniskis finished with just two fewer kills than Naperville North had as a team. Wyoming recruit Paige Lauterwasser had six kills in her final appearance for the Huskies.
“We always say it’s going to be someone’s night,” Baker said. “You just don’t know who it is, right?”
It was Staniskis’ night on Wednesday, but afterward she was spreading the credit around.
“Our defenders were getting amazing ups, our blockers were amazing, our hitters were killing it,” she said. “I’ve never seen this kind of passion from our team before. It was amazing.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.