A year ago, Meredith Milz came off the bench as Kaneland reached the Sweet 16.
Milz had quite a mentor that season in Meghan O’Sullivan, who now plays at Grand Valley State. O’Sullivan was part of a loaded senior class that the Knights graduated.
For Milz, a senior setter, that experience means everything.
“It was awesome learning from them — those are my friends,” she said. “I’m just taking what they taught me, bringing it out to the court and trying to lead how they led me.”
Milz led the way again Monday night, guiding Kaneland to a 26-24, 25-18 victory over Prairie Ridge in the Class 3A Burlington Central Sectional semifinals.
The Knights (29-6) advanced to the 6 p.m. Wednesday championship match against Wheaton St. Francis (26-12), a 25-21, 18-25, 25-14 winner over Woodstock North.
Afterward, Milz confirmed O’Sullivan would likely be one of the first people to contact her about the semifinal victory.
“Meghan is one of my best friends,” Milz said. “They still watch me. They’re giving me advice on and off the court. It’s just amazing.”
The Knights, who graduated a staggering amount of talent, needed someone to help fill the void and lead a new group of players.
Milz fit that bill.
“She was a bench player last season, but she learned a lot and also learned a lot in the offseason,” Kaneland coach Cynthia Violett said. “She’s a great setter.
“She came in running the offense that we wanted to run, which was good. She’s a great captain. Hopefully, she’ll take us to a couple more wins.”
Last season’s experience for Milz paid off Monday in the first game against Prairie Ridge (16-22).
Kaneland led 24-18 after an ace from Bre Ebert, but the Wolves went on a 6-0 run to force a 24-24 tie. Following a timeout and a hitting error, Ella Gatz put down a kill to clinch.
“I knew the entire team was on the same page,” Milz said. “We just wanted to win. I never doubted us for a second.
“The timeout we had helped us. It was like, ‘Guys, we’re here for a reason. We’re here to win. Let’s do it.’ And we did.”
The second game was also a seesaw affair. Kaneland held an 18-16 lead when Milz served an ace. After a side out, Milz managed a tip kill to start a 4-0 run that helped seal the win.
“I felt like they thought they were in control,” Violett said of her team. “My seniors, going through this again is helpful. It’s good to have that experience to come in and treat it like another game.
“They’re fighters and they don’t like to give up. They like to win, so they’re going to keep fighting as long as they can.”
Despite winning back-to-back regional titles, the Knights were a bit overlooked coming into the season.
Graduating standouts in O’Sullivan and Maddie Buckley, who’s playing at Ball State, gave people outside the program the impression this would be a transition season.
Now, they Knights are playing for the sectional title.
“We set goals at the beginning of the year and they have met those goals,” Violett said. “We reset goals again. We’re hoping to meet those as well.”
That’s why Milz isn’t surprised the Knights find themselves in this enviable position, just one year later.
“A lot of people said this was a rebuilding season,” Milz said. “When we came into our first practice, we were talking about our goals, and everyone in there said, ‘Go as far as you can.'”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.