Benet senior Lynney Tarnow has always stood out on and off the volleyball court.
The 6-foot-5 middle hitter is a towering presence everywhere she goes.
“I was always tall when I was a kid,” Tarnow said. “I was always about 4 inches taller than the girls in my grade, and I think that I started to get into the 6-foot range around seventh grade.”
By the time Tarnow got to high school, she was 6-4. The Wisconsin commit made a tremendous impact as a freshman and just kept improving her game as she grew.
“I think that height obviously just came naturally for me, but then you have to put it together with not only being flexible, having agility, being quick on your feet,” Tarnow said. “That’s not always easy for us 6-5 people all the time, so I’m balancing what I’m eating, weightlifting and taking care of my mind and body because it is hard being tall sometimes.”
But not as hard as trying to oppose a player like Tarnow, the 2025 Naperville Sun Girls Volleyball Player of the Year. She led Benet to four consecutive Class 4A state championship matches and a 155-13 record.
Tarnow, a two-time All-American who finished her high school career with 944 kills and 222 blocks, ranks with Meghan Haggerty, who played at Nebraska, as the greatest middle hitter in Benet history.
Tarnow’s best all-around season was her last. She had 227 kills, 55 digs, 40 blocks, 22 aces and 15 assists, becoming the leading force on a team that had lost seven Division I players to graduation.
“It was definitely an adjustment losing so many great players, but I think that it was just taking nuggets of wisdom that each senior had taught me from being a freshman on the team,” Tarnow said. “That really helped me as a senior.
“I can kind of take all what I learned from the older girls and use it to be the best senior I can be. We’ve all blended together so well. That’s why we saw so much success.”
Tarnow was successful in many ways, particularly with her blocking. But her signature move was the backslide, in which she moved behind senior setter Ellie Stiernagle, who set the ball to Tarnow on the right side. Then it was hammer time as Tarnow smashed the ball down for kill after kill.
She was rarely stopped, and the sequence was fascinating for players and spectators.
“The slide down the line is my favorite for sure,” Tarnow said. “That’s been my move for four years.”
Tarnow pounded a kill on a slide to end the first set of the sectional championship match against St. Charles North.
“The last play of that first set, everybody was basically on their hands and knees bowing down to her,” Stiernagle said. “It was amazing.
“It’s always amazing, and she can just put the ball down in incredible ways, just hammer it on the ground. But she also has a lot of tools in that box, so it’s not always a hammer. She can get kills any other way.”
Benet’s Ellie Stiernagle (11) and Lynney Tarnow (12) go up to block against Marist during the Class 4A state championship match at CEFCU Arena in Normal on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (Rob Dicker / Naperville Sun)
That’s one of the hallmarks of a great middle.
“You have to be able to hit multiple shots and be able to hit them with power,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “And her confidence, with being in so many big matches, has helped our team, not just with her play but her mental ability and how calm she keeps us.”
Baker said talent and success aren’t the only qualities that make Tarnow stand out.
“It’s one thing to be a great athlete, but also to be humble about it is pretty fantastic,” Baker said. “She’s always been extremely humble and extremely kind to not only her coaches but to players and staff.”
That endeared Tarnow to teammates like the Northwestern-bound Stiernagle, who will play against her in the Big Ten.
“She’s just an amazing person,” Stiernagle said. “I think a lot of people look at her for her height, but she’s just an amazing person in general. I’m just grateful to have played with her the last four years.”
Benet’s Lynne Tarnow, left, chats with teammate Ellie Stiernagle before a match in the Crown Point Invitational in Crown Point, Indiana, on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune)
Tarnow is grateful to have played at Benet.
“It means so much,” she said. “I’m really happy to be a Redwing.
“I just thank the program for all the support they’ve given me. It prepared me for Wisconsin, and I’m excited to start that journey now.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
