KCChronicle.com/preps Athlete of the Week: St. Charles East girls volleyball’s Dana Voltolina

Why she was selected: Notched team-high 14 kills in East's upset win against Benet

St. Charles East senior Dana Voltolina was at her best against the best, helping the Saints defeat defending IHSA Class 4A champion Benet in an emotional match last Wednesday. Voltolina, who also contributed five kills in Monday's win against Downers Grove South, is the Kane County Chronicle-St. Charles Bank & Trust Athlete of the Week. Chronicle sports editor Jay Schwab spoke with Voltolina about the Benet match and more. The following is an edited transcript:

Was the Benet game the best you've played so far in your East career?

Yeah, it definitely was up there. It was honestly a great game. It was really fun to be in. It just was really fun, and we played really well.

How huge of a win for it for you guys, confidence-wise?

Really good. Benet is an amazing team so just knowing that we could pull together as a team and make the adjustments we needed to make to play well against them, it was really good.

Everyone's got a loss in the conference. Does it feel like it's up for grabs?

Yeah, it could be anyone. I guess it just depends on how well the rest of the season goes for all of us.

If you had to pick one teammate to help you with some difficult homework, who would it be, and why?

I think probably Emily Vitel because we have a lot of classes together, and we seem to work well together.