Sophomore defensive specialist Addison Kashuba had mixed emotions before taking the court Thursday night for St. Charles North against top-seeded Benet.
On the one hand, Kashuba felt some trepidation about how she would fare against the Redwings’ plethora of big boppers. But she also was up for the challenge.
“I was honestly pretty scared going into it because I thought I wouldn’t be able to help my team with my serve,” Kashuba said. “I was also very excited to play defense against all of their front-row players.
“Obviously, I wanted to dig them.”
There was a lot to dig about the performance of Kashuba and her teammates, who gave the Redwings everything they could handle before losing 25-18, 28-26 in the Class 4A West Aurora Sectional championship match.
Benet (38-1) advances to play New Trier (26-6) at 6 p.m. Monday in the St. Charles North Supersectional.
The Redwings have lost only three sets all season. They nearly lost one to the second-seeded North Stars (32-7), who led for the first 47 points of the second set before Benet fought off four set points.
“I’m very happy with how we played,” Kashuba said. “I feel like this is the best we’ve ever played against them. We all gave it our all.”
Indeed, this was the third time the North Stars played Benet this season, and it was by far the closest match.
Kashuba did her part at the service line, scoring four points, including three aces. The first two were back-to-back and pulled the North Stars within 4-3 in the first set.
“Addi is super aggressive, especially from behind the line,” St. Charles North coach Lindsey Hawkins said. “That’s why we get her in there and get her going.
“And then she brought out some amazing defense. She was making it really tough on their setter, too.”
That’s saying a lot because the Redwings have 11 Division I commits, including their entire starting lineup. Maryland-bound outside hitter Brooklynne Brass led the Redwings with 12 kills, the last three of which erased set points in the second game.
Brass’ big effort was necessary because the North Stars led 20-14 as Penn State recruit Haley Burgdorf smashed 15 of her 20 kills in the second set. Burgdorf, however, credited Kashuba for keeping plenty of rallies alive.
“She’s one of those players you can really have trust in,” Burgdorf said. “Even in practice, we’re like, ‘Oh, Addi is at the back line, she’s got that.’
“We’re so proud of her developing as a player and she had some awesome pickups, just picking up the setter dump. She’s an amazing player and she knows when to step up, and it’s really amazing and helps this team a lot.”
The North Stars will bring back their entire starting lineup next year except for libero Meg Kalenowski. Kashuba is expected to be a key cog over the next two seasons.
“She was awesome for us (Thursday) and she was awesome for us on Tuesday night,” Hawkins said. “She’s just been stepping up and playing her role, so I’m really excited to see what she can do in the future.”
So is Kashuba, who said she was happy to be able to help the North Stars with her serving as well as her defense. And her excellent performance against Benet only underscored that sentiment.
Is she still scared of playing the Redwings?
“I feel like next year is definitely going to be a challenge,” Kashuba said. “I want to be able to play back row against them. I’m a lot more confident playing them because I know I’m able to do it.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
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