Benet senior Sophia Chinetti is always on the attack, regardless of the direction from which she’s coming.
The Rhode Island commit is most accustomed to right-side hitter. That’s where she played during her first three varsity seasons.
But Benet coach Brad Baker likes to tinker with his lineup. He did so in the preseason, ultimately moving middle hitter Molly Welge to right-side hitter and shifting Chinetti to outside hitter.
“When we’re in the first week, we just kind of look at everybody,” Baker said. “We’re trying to figure out where we can fit everybody so we have the best lineup.
“She had a really good first few days, and we kept with it, and she just kept getting better.”
Indeed, the 6-foot Chinetti has thrived on the left side as Benet’s No. 2 outside hitter. On Tuesday, she landed a team-high six kills to help the top-seeded Redwings beat fourth-seeded St. Francis 25-15, 25-12 in the Class 4A Glenbard West Sectional semifinals in Glen Ellyn.
Chinetti has racked up 136 kills, 21 blocks and 11 aces for Benet (36-2), which will play second-seeded St. Charles North (35-3) in the sectional championship match at 6 p.m. Thursday.
“Tonight, I felt her decision-making was really good,” Baker said. “When you’re on the outside, you’ve got to make decisions — ‘when do I get a good ball,’ and, ‘when I’ve got to go at it, when I’ve got to hit a shot to try to get us back (in system).’
“As the season has gone along, she’s gotten really good at that.”
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Chinetti didn’t expect to end up on the left side, but she wasn’t afraid of the change.
“I’ve played right-side basically my whole career,” she said. “But in club there are some times where I’ll go outside to get experience. In club practices, all of us rotate to outside and right-side. So playing at this high level was new to me, but I was able to adjust.”
That adjustment came quickly, so the Redwings didn’t miss a beat. Both Chinetti and Welge, a Marquette commit, are having outstanding seasons and meshing well with senior setter Ellie Stiernagle, a Northwestern commit.
In the first game against St. Francis (25-13), Welge broke a 9-9 tie with a kill, and Chinetti spiked a kill to begin a closing 6-0 run.
In the second game, it was Chinetti’s kill that broke a 9-9 tie, and the Redwings scored 16 of the last 19 points.
“There are some technical things that are a little different,” Chinetti said of playing on the left. “Honestly, I feel like it was a pretty easy adjustment.
“My teammates are a really big help. If I was ever struggling, I would just talk to my teammates, like Ellie. She would help me. Or I would talk to my coaches. They would help me.”
Chinetti is helping the Redwings, who have reached the last three 4A state championship matches, in their quest to win their fifth state title. She would be the top outside hitter on most teams, but her talents can be overlooked because she’s playing in the shadow of No. 1 outside hitter Brooklynne Brass, a Maryland commit, and senior middle Lynney Tarnow, a Wisconsin commit.
“She’s definitely not overlooked in our gym, that’s what I can tell you,” Stiernagle said. “She’s always a good, calm presence on the court and just makes a load of difference.
“You saw her tonight. She was banging the ball like a killer tonight, and then she’s such a big block on the left side.”
Stiernagle didn’t anticipate any problems with Chinetti’s position switch and has been proved correct.
“I feel like the right side to the left side wasn’t a big change,” Stiernagle said. “I feel like we ran it pretty smoothly. She’s just been killing it.”
Chinetti has never been the headliner during her career at Benet, but she’s perfectly fine being part of a terrific ensemble cast.
“Benet has a really big legacy, and that was really what drew me in,” she said. “I knew I wanted to be a part of a big program that could help me grow as a person, and I want to be a part of a really big community like Benet is.
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“It’s an honor to be here, an honor to play here.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.