Benet sophomore middle hitter Lynney Tarnow still gets nervous before every match.
It doesn’t matter that she has become one of the best players in the state for a team that arguably has the deepest talent pool around.
“I think the jitters are good going into a game because that’s how you come out strong,” Tarnow said. “That’s how you know you are really caring about volleyball.”
The 6-foot-5 Tarnow said she felt them again before the Class 4A St. Charles North Sectional championship match on Wednesday, but with that came a big reserve of self-confidence.
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“I always have some jitters, but I think it’s fun,” she said. “Being confident actually helps you play good, and I just always try to have that confidence in me, whether I am nervous or not.”
If Tarnow was nervous, one can only imagine how the opposing team felt. She led all players with eight kills and two blocks as the top-seeded Redwings swept second-seeded Glenbard West 25-22, 25-18.
Benet (37-2) advances to play New Trier (29-6) in the Bartlett Supersectional at 7 p.m. Friday.
How would Benet sophomore setter Ellie Stiernagle rate Tarnow’s performance against Glenbard West (35-4), one of only two teams to beat Benet this season?
“12 out of 10,” Stiernagle said. “She was amazing. She’s always amazing.”
Indeed, Benet coach Brad Baker is accustomed to Tarnow’s dominant performances at the net.
“This is what she does all year round,” Baker said. “When you play high-level club volleyball, you get comfortable playing in these matches against top club-level competition. She plays at this level against this type of competition all the time.”
Glenbard West beat the Redwings in three sets on Aug. 26, but Benet rebounded to win the next three meetings, including the sectional final, in straight sets and was the only Illinois team to defeat the Hilltoppers.
Tarnow was a major force on Wednesday. Four of her kills gave Benet the lead, as did one of her blocks. Junior middle Gabby Stasys added six kills and two blocks.
Stiernagle, who ended the match with a dump kill, had 22 assists and has total confidence in Tarnow.
“Our connection has definitely gotten better,” Stiernagle said. “It takes a second for middles and setter to get a connection. I think we got it pretty fast and early, and she’s gotten so confident. She’s banging balls now.”
And they aren’t coming merely from the middle. Tarnow can move well for her size, is adept at scoring on backslides and can hammer down overpasses like they are protruding nails.
“She has wide range, and having wide ranges allows you to hit multiple things, and people can’t camp on just one thing,” Baker said.
That’s what makes the Redwings so hard to stop. They have so many weapons that even double-teaming Tarnow won’t help.
“There’s a lot of people that can get it done on any given night,” Baker said. “Some teams have a couple people that you can kind of game-plan for. It’s difficult to do that here. We’re not afraid to go to anybody that’s in the front row.”
Those players include junior outside hitter Audrey Asleson, a Colorado commit, and sophomore right-side hitter Sophia Chinetti, who each had four kills against Glenbard West, and senior outside hitter Ava Novak, who contributed three kills.
“I think it works because we all trust each other,” Tarnow said. “We all know that we’re all really amazing players and that we can have each other’s backs.
“When someone gets subbed out, whoever is in the game will do their jobs.”
That’s what the Redwings did in the second set against the Hilltoppers. Five players recorded kills as Benet turned a 10-10 tie into a comfortable win.
“The key is never think that you’re done,” Tarnow said. “Never think that you already won the game.
“It was great winning the first set. But we knew this is a team that could come back either way in the second, and we were just prepared for that.”
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Tarnow always is prepared but never satisfied with her array of skills.
“I always try to be diverse with all my movements,” she said. “I try to sneak new shots in every day, and I’m working hard to not only be a big block but also a big hitter.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.