Benet middle hitter Molly Welge may be the best player you’ve never seen.
The 6-foot-3 senior recorded 34 kills and eight blocks in limited playing time last season, when she was a backup to starters Lynney Tarnow
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and Gabby Stasys.Stasys is a freshman at Yale, so Welge has moved into the starting lineup.
“I think people are in for an awakening because she played a lot last year, just not in the role that we expect her to play this year,” Benet coach Brad Baker said.
“We expect her to be a star. We expect her to be one of our go-to players, and we’re excited for her.”
Senior setter Ellie Stiernagle is excited to work with Welge, a Marquette commit who will form a fearsome duo in the middle with the 6-5 Tarnow, a Wisconsin commit.
“She’s grown so much,” Stiernagle said of Welge. “She’s an absolute dog on the court right now. I can literally set her from anywhere and she’ll just slam the ball down.”
Welge intends to do that with regularity.
“As a middle, I really don’t get set a lot,” she said. “So every time I do get set, I’m just trying to put the ball down and get a kill and batter the ball every time I touch it.”
That’s something Welge did mostly in practice last season. She watched from the bench as the Redwings (40-2) reached the Class 4A state championship match for the third straight year.
“I’m really excited to step into a new role and do the best that I can,” Welge said. “I’ve got a good connection with Ellie already. We can make that even better and continue to do our thing.”
Welge gives the Northwestern-bound Stiernagle plenty of options.
“She’s super versatile,” Stiernagle said. “She will literally hit any set I give her, even if it’s a little iffy.
“She’s very athletic. She goes really fast on both pins, especially blocking. We get a lot of blocks from her, so she’s a really great middle right now.”
Welge wasn’t bad at all a year ago. She was just part of a stacked roster that included 12 Division I commits, so she had to wait her turn.
“I honestly think it made me better and more competitive,” she said. “Practices were really competitive. Lynney and Gabby made me compete harder.
“No matter what my role is on the team, I’m trying to do that 100%. I’m excited to keep competing.”
Stiernagle has witnessed the result of Welge’s competitive fire.
“Even last year, she gave both middles a run for their money,” Stiernagle said. “Every day she was super competitive, like never backing down.
“She got so much better during this last club season, and you can see it right now.”
Baker has liked what he has seen so far. Opponents, however, might not.
“Her blocking game, she’s always been quick, and now her blocking has really improved,” Baker said. “We think offensively she could be better than Gabby.
“I don’t know who is going to stop her. She’s been pretty unstoppable in practice, and we don’t expect that to change.”
It’s a frightening prospect for opponents considering Tarnow has been unstoppable for a couple of seasons. Most teams are happy to have one great middle, and Benet has two.
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“She’s going to be a very key part of our offense this year,” Stiernagle said of Welge.
Welge would have started long ago on just about any other team, but she wouldn’t trade her experience at Benet for more playing time.
“It’s such a competitive environment,” she said. “Everyone is here for a reason. Everyone wants to get better. We’re all pushing each other every day. It’s just a really great competitive environment, and I’m really grateful to be a part of it.”
The Redwings aren’t favored to win the state title this season, although they’re considered to be a contender. That’s just fine with Welge.
“I think we’re going to be competing even harder this year now that we lost some girls,” she said. “But I think the mindset doesn’t change, no matter who is on the court.
“I think we’re going to be a team to look out for. We always finish strong.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.