NORMAL — Back on Oct. 8, Marist was soundly defeated by Benet in an East Suburban Catholic Conference girls volleyball matchup.
That was then, this was now.
The setback fueled the RedHawks for the rest of the season and they never lost again. They showed their resiliency by bouncing back and playing their best volleyball down the stretch. That culminated in a 19-25, 25-16, 25-19 victory over Benet in the Class 4A state championship match on Nov. 16 at CEFCU Arena.
It was the 15th straight victory for Marist (33-9). The Redwings (40-2), who came in ranked No.5 in the nation by MaxPreps, lost in the title match for the third straight season — all of them in three sets.
“That was an upset for the ages right there,” Marist coach Jordan Vidovic said. “No questions about it. It was all toughness, right? You can have the biggest players. You can have a Division I-filled roster. You can do whatever you want.
“You still have to have the toughness. And that’s what we’ve brought the last couple of weeks.”
Yes, they did, especially down the stretch. Bella Bullington led the way with a season-high 16 kills, three blocks, two aces and nine digs. The senior outside hitter, who will attend Northwestern, had six kills in the final set, including the match-winner.
“It was everything,” Bullington said. “I’m so proud of the determination of everyone. We took some hits early in the season but we came back.”
Bullington missed about a month with a strained oblique muscle. The RedHawks 3-6 in one stretch in the middle of the season. But they regrouped after a 25-18, 25-16 home loss to Benet.
“Even when we were struggling, we had that trust, that determination that we could win out in the end,” Bullington said. “We had a really good vision of what the team could be.”
That vision was on display in the third set. Marist jumped out to a 5-1 lead before the Redwings used a 5-0 run to take their only lead at 6-5. Four more ties followed, the last at 11-11. Then Bullington bashed a pair of kills, teamed up with senior middle blocker Brooke Conlan (four blocks, two kills) for a block, and junior right side hitter Savanah Weathers (10 kills, three blocks, eight digs, ace) capped it off with two kills.
“I just needed to get into my groove and start swinging away,” Weathers said. “It felt really good to come through the rough beginning. We’ve been putting in the work and it all paid off for us.”
Benet never got closer than four points after that. The Redwings saved two match points before Bellington delivered the match-winner.
“It’s something you dream about as a little kid,” Bellington said of the final kill. “To get the final point to win the state championship.”
Marist jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first set but the Redwings raced right back. Trailing 11-9, they went on an 8-0 run to lead 17-11 and the margin never got closer than four afterward. The second set brought a 4-0 RedHawks lead before Benet bounced back to take a 10-9 advantage. But ahead 18-16, Marist closed it out with a 7-0 spurt, with Bullington getting a pair of aces and Weathers walloping two kills, including the set-winner.
Maggie Kurpeikis, a sophomore outside hitter, and junior middle blocker Cassidy Cage each added five kills. Junior libero Elayna Davidson (14 digs, two aces) was outstanding on defense and playing in her final match of a four-year varsity career, senior setter Maddie Berry dished out 33 assists.
“I just knew from experience that they would be very physical,” Davidson said. “So I knew that I couldn’t let the ball drop. Coach said for us to trust each other and we had each other’s backs.”
That helped them go out on top.
“It’s amazing and I’ve been working for this the past four years,” Berry said. “My team all had the same mentality that we could do it and we flipped the switch at the right time.”
It’s the third state title for Marist, which advanced with a 25-14, 25-22 semifinal win over Lockport on Nov. 15. For Vidovic, it’s his fifth state championship as a coach and second in the calendar year. The RedHawks also won the boys title in the spring.
“It’s different than all the rest of them,” Vidovic said of this championship. “But it’s all about ‘program.’ That’s what we talked about. It could be 6-foot-6 vs. 5-foot-3 out there but it doesn’t matter. Anything is possible when you get tough in those moments.”