Changing positions isn’t new for Benet senior Audrey Asleson. Neither is winning.
The Colorado commit was the starting setter as a sophomore and quarterbacked the Redwings to the Class 4A state championship match. But Benet coach Brad Baker moved her to outside hitter last season to fill a need, and the Redwings made it back to the state final.
“We’re trying to put together the team that can possibly be the most successful,” Baker said. “Last year, we needed her to hit to make that happen.”
Not so this season. The arrival of outside hitters Brooklynne Brass and Keira O’Donnell has allowed Asleson to move back to setter, and the results have been impressive.
Asleson had 26 assists, five digs and three kills in a virtuoso performance Thursday as the top-seeded Redwings swept eighth-seeded Naperville Central 25-18, 25-21 to win the Class 4A Naperville North Regional title.
Benet (36-1) advances to play fifth-seeded Wheaton Warrenville South in the West Aurora Sectional semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
“She’s a really good volleyball player along with being a really good setter,” Baker said. “It’s hard to quantify some of the things that she’s able to do, the balls that she’s able to get to with her speed, her blocking, her decision-making. Those don’t show up in numbers.”
Except perhaps in victories. Asleson is happy to share the credit for those.
“It helps a lot when I have such a good defense and passing and then also great hitters,” she said. “They make me look really good. They make my job a lot easier.”
That is true. Against Naperville Central, Asleson spread the ball around to multiple Division I recruits. Brass, a junior who has committed to Maryland, led the way with 12 kills. Senior middle Gabby Stasys, a Yale commit, and junior outside hitter Sophia Chinetti, a Rhode Island commit, each had five kills. O’Donnell, a Southern Mississippi commit, and senior middle Lynney Tarnow, a Wisconsin commit, both added four kills.
Senior libero Aniya Warren, a Purdue commit, paced Benet’s great defensive effort with 15 digs, and senior defensive specialist Morgan Asleson, a Dayton commit, had 10 digs.
Somebody has to make proper use of all those options. Audrey Asleson is a master at it.
“She’s an amazing setter, amazing,” Brass said. “She’s really athletic and really versatile. So even if you don’t give her the best pass, she’s going to work to get a better set for it. And she’s a really fun setter to be able to play with.”
The Redwings had a lot of fun despite a valiant effort by the Redhawks (23-13), who got five kills from senior outside hitter Makenna Devick and 12 assists from senior setter Sarah Butler, an Austin Peay State commit.
Senior defensive specialist Mabel Li served five straight points to pull Naperville Central within 23-20 in the second set, but the Redwings closed it out when Audrey Asleson set Tarnow for a kill.
Brass’ hot hitting gave the Redwings big leads in both sets. This season is the first time Brass and Audrey Asleson have played together, but they have meshed well.
“I trained against her in club, and that was really frustrating,” Audrey Asleson said. “She’d always be the one getting kills against us. Now having her on my team is really nice. She brings a lot of good energy to the team.”
Brass has led Benet in hitting over the past month, but the Redwings are so deep and Audrey Asleson so experienced that teams can’t key on just one hitter.
“The game plan for here on out is always to do whatever we can to score the next point, do everything to win,” Audrey Asleson said. “If that’s going back to the same hitter, then that’s what we’re going to do.”
Audrey Asleson has been doing a lot of great things this season. Brass thinks it’s only the beginning.
“She has a huge, bright future,” Brass said. “She’s an amazing setter now, and I can’t want to see where she gets to.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
