In the final match of her illustrious high school career, Benet senior libero Aniya Warren led all players with 18 digs.
Warren’s performance in a three-set loss to Marist in the Class 4A state championship match surprised no one.
“It’s what we’ve come to expect from her,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “I wouldn’t expect anything else. She just does what Aniya does.”
The 5-foot-8 Warren, the 2024 Naperville Sun Girls Volleyball Player of the Year, is the latest in a long line of star liberos at Benet. But she is arguably the best to do it, racking up 1,649 digs during a four-year career as the Redwings went 148-16 overall and 20-4 in the playoffs. They finished second in the state in three straight seasons.
“She’s the first kid to start four years at libero for us and has just been a rock,” Baker said. “She’s going to be a hard one to replace.”
Warren, a Purdue commit, is the player of the year for the second season in a row.
“Aniya is a great player, and I’m so honored to play next to her every day,” Benet junior middle hitter Lynney Tarnow said. “She is unbelievable, and she makes everyone better around her.”
Indeed, on a roster loaded with great talent, Warren was the engine for the Redwings (40-2). She played like a nuclear-powered metronome, able to consistently make sensational defensive plays and never run out of energy. She finished the season with 312 digs, 78 assists and 16 aces.
In the process, Warren demonstrated what it takes to be a great libero.
“You’ve just got to go out there and believe in yourself and just go for it,” she said. “If the ball is coming 100 miles an hour, you go out there and blow it up.
“You take the risk of getting hit in the face, and at the end of the day, it’s just really special to be able to be in that backcourt and pick up balls for your team.”
Warren’s athleticism in doing that was obvious, but her other qualities were just as important. She played with an infectious joy that didn’t waver.
“You’re probably not elite if you don’t bring them both (skills and intangibles),” Baker said. “If you bring one or the other, you leave someone wanting, and she never leaves anybody wanting.”
Warren was driven by a desire to do everything she could to help her teammates.
“To be a great libero, you have to have so much heart and so much passion,” she said. “You just have to love what you’re doing, and every single day I love what I’m doing.
“It’s not an easy job. It’s very underrated. But it is a special thing to be doing that I will never take for granted.”
The Redwings never took Warren for granted.
“She’s a special one,” Baker said. “She’s a great kid, and I’m just going to miss having her in the gym, with the energy she brings and her excitement for the game and her excitement for life. We’re going to miss her.”
As will Tarnow.
“She’s so fierce,” Tarnow said. “As a middle blocker, you’re supposed to run your front row, and she runs the back row, so I think that’s inspiration for me.”
Warren, in turn, was inspired by her teammates and coaches.
“I’m so thankful for the coaches I’ve been coached by,” she said. “I just wanted to make a difference and give it my all on every point.
“It’s been amazing, and it’s been a long ride. At the end of the day, it’s been one in a million.”
A state championship was the only thing that eluded Warren. But even after the Redwings were upset by Marist, Warren remained positive. If she shed any tears, they weren’t for public consumption.
“I’m proud of these girls,” she said. “I’m proud of everyone that went out there and fought right by me.
“I would go out there and compete with them all over again if I had the opportunity. I’m sad that it’s over, but it’s been an amazing four years. I’m truly grateful for everything that’s gone into my high school career.”
Tarnow predicts even greater success for Warren in college.
“I’m so sad we fell short for her, but she has that fire in her,” Tarnow said. “I know she’s going to do whatever she can at Purdue and try to win that national title.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
