Benet setter Audrey Asleson’s career has long been on an upward trajectory.

But the 6-foot junior is literally taking her game to new heights. Asleson recently committed to play at Colorado, ending a summerlong process that included official visits to Michigan State, Missouri, Utah and South Carolina.

“I’ve been visiting a ton of schools with my family, so it’s been super fun,” she said. “I had an open mind going into the recruiting process. I didn’t have one set dream school or anything. I was looking at pretty much all of the Power Five conferences.

“At the end, it was pretty clear Colorado was the best fit for me.”

Asleson said she was drawn to Colorado’s mountainous setting and recreational amenities, not just compatibility with the coaching staff and players.

“It’s super pretty,” she said. “I love to ski, and their rule is players can ski as long as they know how to and it’s not in-season. Skiing opportunities, of course, are limited in the Chicago area.

“I’ve always talked about kind of wanting to veer a little bit away from home to see a new state and seeing some new things besides the Midwest, so Colorado is a nice mix. It’s not too far, but it is so different from Illinois.”

Asleson’s high school career has been a little different from most. After playing on the junior varsity team as a freshman, Asleson took over as the varsity setter last year and guided the Redwings (37-5) to the Class 4A state championship match, where they lost in three sets to Mother McAuley.

“You don’t see many sophomore setters,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “It’s hard to run a 5-1 and get to where we got. There’s a lot on you. You’ve got to touch the ball on every play. Everyone is looking at you all the time, and it’s not easy.”

But Asleson handled the pressure with aplomb. She finished the season with 747 assists, 206 digs, 53 kills, 39 blocks and 24 aces, and she was named all-area.

“She’s an elite-level athlete,” Baker said. “She definitely grew as the year went along, and over this summer she’s gotten better and she’s gotten more confident in herself.”

With that confidence comes some added determination to help the Redwings take the next step.

“Last year was definitely really fun, to start as a sophomore,” Asleson said. “I definitely think that was a big step for me, having to take that leadership role as an underclassman, but the team was really helpful through that.

“Obviously, we had a great run, but now we just have that much more motivation for this year after seeing what it is like to lose that far into the state run.”

Despite her relative youth, Asleson proved to be the ideal leader.

“She has the right personality to be a setter,” Baker said. “You don’t want your setters to get too high, you don’t want them to get too low. You need to be really, really steady.

“You look at the best quarterbacks, and there’s appropriate times to show emotion, but a lot of time the quarterback of the team just needs to have a steadiness about them and bring a calmness to your team.”

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Asleson brings that and much more, according to junior libero Aniya Warren, an Indiana commit.

“Audrey is definitely very physical at the front of the net too,” Warren said. “In the front row, she can block really well, and that’s something that I feel setters sometimes have and sometimes they don’t have it. So for her to be so physical at the net and also to be able to be quick to get the ball, it helps us as a team.”

The blocking is something Asleson refined during the club season.

“I’ve always kind of relied on my athleticism, so blocking has definitely been a natural skill for me,” she said. “But this year I’ve been able to work on the technical side of it, like how I press over and the footwork, so I’m really excited about that.”

Asleson and her Benet teammates are excited about their chances. They’re shooting for the program’s fifth state title since 2011.

“We’re definitely fortunate to have so much depth on our team,” Asleson said. “We’re going to do everything we can to win this year.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.