Suburban Life Athlete of the Week: Lynney Tarnow, Benet, volleyball, freshman

Name: Lynney Tarnow

School: Benet, freshman

Sport: Volleyball

Why she was selected: Tarnow, a 6-foot-4 freshman middle, had 12 kills and three blocks in Benet’s three-set win over Skutt Catholic, a 2021 Nebraska state champion. She also had five kills and three blocks in Benet’s three-set win over Montini. She was voted the Athlete of the Week in an online vote by readers. Here is her interview with Sports Editor Joshua Welge.

Welge: How good of a win was that one over the team from Nebraska?

Tarnow: It was great. I think it helped with our overall confidence. Now I feel like we have a little more spunk in us that we can do anything we put our minds to.

Welge: What was the key to your individual match against them? Twelve kills is a pretty big number for a middle.

Tarnow: I think just staying motivated throughout the match and having tenacity helped my mindset and feeding off the crowd. We had a lot of great students there and my family supporting me so I took that energy and I put it into the game. It led to being a super fun night.

Welge: How have you settled into things as a freshman playing for a great program like Benet?

Tarnow: At first I have to say I was nervous. Benet has a great record and great players come in and out of the school. My teammates helped. I love my teammates. They made me feel welcome right away. At first I didn’t know if I was going to be playing. Eventually with the coaches’ support and working hard, I got a position to play middle blocker and I took it and ran with it.

Welge: What have you learned from the older girls?

Tarnow: Probably just relying on each other. Having fun but staying focused is the key to the game. You have to feed off each other’s energy, have to put your work ethic in it. We have a good time but we show up and get after it every single day.

Welge: Where did you get your height from?

Tarnow: All my brothers are very tall, my parents are tall and my grandparents are tall. Two of my brothers played basketball. One was a chess star. I originally started playing basketball like my older brothers but it wasn’t a fit for me. Volleyball was the next option and I loved it from the get-go.