By Randy Whalen

Delany Moran had a special finish. 

Following a summer league match, she was asked what she looked forward to about this season's Joliet Central girls volleyball team.

"I've been on the varsity all four years," Moran said. "I'm really excited about growing with the girls, that's my favorite part."

That's what Moran and the Steelmen did this season. They overcame a rocky middle portion and finished with one win more than last year. What gave them that one more victory was a 25-17, 25-18 win on Monday, October 27, over East Aurora in a quarterfinal match of the Class 4A Oswego East Regional. 

While the Steelmen saw their season end the next day in a 25-15, 25-12 loss to crosstown rival Joliet West in a regional semifinal, they had captured four of the previous seven matches coming into that one. Joliet Central (9-24) still won four times down the stretch after losing 18 in a row following a 5-2 start. The nine wins were the most since 2019, when there were also nine. 

“Picking up the wins late in the season feels really good,” Moran said. “It gave us the confidence we need to find wins as we go on. We just trusted each other, and we just needed to remember that we’ve won games before and we could keep doing that.”

Against East Aurora, Moran led the way with six kills and added 14 good serve receives and seven digs. Fellow senior Makinsey Whitmore, at middle hitter, added a trio of kills and a pair of blocks. Senior opposite side hitter Joyse Alvizo and junior middle hitter Cali Judd each added 3 kills, while junior setter Lexi Webb had 14 assists and junior libero Camryn Brown added 8 digs.

“It’s nice to know that I get to keep playing with the girls around me,” Whitmore said following the East Aurora win. "The connection we have is insane. Even when we lose, there are still smiles on our faces, and we’re still upbeat. We never give up as a team."

There were two ties, at 5-5 and 6-6, in the first set. But the Steelmen never trailed. Ahead 11-8, they went on an 8-3 spurt to take control.

East Aurora (2-30) led 3-0 in the second set. But that was its highlight of the match for the Tomcats, who opened the season with a 25-19, 25-16 loss on Tuesday, August 26, at Joliet Central, and closed the campaign with 16 straight losses. Ahead 18-15, Joliet Central closed with a 7-3 push, which included aces from senior defensive specialists Izabel Barrera (4 digs, assist) and Cameron Salazar (2 aces). 

Fittingly, Moran mashed the last kill to give the Steelmen their first postseason win since they defeated Eisenhower 25-19, 25-20 on Monday, October 24, 2022, in a quarterfinal of the Class 4A Homewood-Flossmoor Regional.

"I thought our offense played really well," Joliet Central coach Kevin O’Connell said following the victory. “Our middles (Judd and Whitmore) did a really good job offensively and defensively. Delany had a really nice game on the outside, and Camryn Brown did a really nice job on defense despite being sick.

“The team was just happy to have a postseason win. They were also happy to get to play even one more day."

The next day, the Steelmen fell to Joliet West to see their season end. In that match, Judd and Moran (6 digs, 2 assists) had 3 kills apiece. Senior defensive specialist Andrea Mireles had a trio of aces and 4 digs, while Webb welcomed 7 assists and 5 digs. 

Joliet West (35-4), which won a regional title for the fourth straight season, saw the season and 19-match winning streak come to an end in a 21-25, 25-20, 25-21 loss to Lockport on Thursday, November 6, in the title match of the Joliet West Sectional. Against the Steelmen, the Tigers were led by 8 kills apiece from sophomore outside hitter Lexie Grevengoed and junior middle hitter Penny Wagner.

"Being my senior year, it's really sad, and I'm going to miss it," Whitmore said. "But the connection we all had was a great feeling, and it was awesome."

Alvizo, Barrera, Jasmin Gonzalez Guzman, Mireles, Moran, Salazar, and Whitmore are the seven Steelmen seniors.

"I'll remember just how grateful I am that I got to play with these girls," Moran said. "We had fun, and it was great to win a regional match, especially senior year. The four years went by really fast."