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Benet’s Brittany Pavich picks Boston College
Brittany Pavich
Updated: August 27, 2012 6:04AM
HINSDALE — As Brittany Pavich discovered, Boston College isn’t located in Boston, but in the western suburban known as Chestnut Hill.
“I thought the campus was beautiful. It was probably one of the most beautiful campuses I’ve ever seen,” Pavich said. “It’s perfect.”
Perfect was good enough for the Benet 6-foot-3 junior middle hitter, who verbally committed to the Eagles July 12 as her next volleyball destination after two more years with the Redwings.
The Hinsdale resident chose BC over other Atlantic Coast Conference schools Pavich declined to name.
There is a good chance Pavich will get to know Hinsdale Central setter Meghan McDowell over the course of her college career. McDowell, a 6-3 senior from Clarendon Hills, committed to Virginia last year and is expected to sign in November.
Brittany Pavich will become the second member of her family to play Division I athletics after her second cousin, Jenny, a Hinsdale Central graduate, played basketball at Loyola in the 1990s.
Brittany comes from an athletic family. Her older sister Lindsay recently graduated from Hinsdale Central after earning a pair of medals in relay events at the state swimming and diving meet while another cousin, Lauren, also graduated in June after playing basketball for the Devils.
Brittany became Benet’s starting middle hitter when standout Gabby Pethokoukis became injured last season. When Pathokoukis returned, Pavich came off the bench for the Redwings (39-3), who defeated Cary-Grove in the final. Pavich entered the state tournament with 62 kills and 48 blocks last season.
“Brittany has worked very hard to become one of the best middles in the state,” Benet coach Brad Baker said in an email. “Always a great teammate, Brittany continues to improve and has tremendous upside as a player.”
Pavich will follow former Benet outside hitter Val Mattaliano to BC although the two never met at Benet. Mattaliano is a 6-foot senior with the Eagles after starting for Benet as a junior and senior. Mattaliano, a Glen Ellyn resident, missed most of her junior season due to an injury but ranked second in kills for BC as a sophomore. Mattaliano, a communications major, also played for Sports Performance during her club volleyball career.
Pavich knows Mattaliano’s younger sisters, Emily and Cara.
Since Nebraska-bound middle hitter Maddie Haggerty transferred to St. Francis, Pavich becomes the top returning offensive player for Benet, which lost 10 seniors to graduation, including Meghan Haggerty (Nebraska) and Jenna Jendryk (Dayton). The Redwings also return libero Sheila Doyle and setter Hannah Kaminsky.
In June, Pavich’s Aurora-based Sports Performance club team finished fifth in the 16 Open division at the AAU Junior Nationals in Orlando, Fla.
