By Randy Whalen

There were ups and downs. But overall this season had positives and memories for the Joliet Central girls' volleyball team.

But the Steelmen's season ended on Monday, October 28 with a 25-21, 25-15 loss to Plainfield East in a quarterfinal match of the Class 4A Lockport Regional. 

"I thought it was a much improved season," Joliet Central coach Kevin O'Connell said. "Going three sets with Minooka and Joliet West and just being more competitive were the main things."

A highlight this season for the Steelmen (8-19) was a 4-match win streak between October 4-5 at the De La Salle Invite. That put their record at 7-8 but they lost 11-of-12 to end the season. An overall record of 3-7 in 3-set matches didn't help either.

Still, Joliet Central's competitive spirit showed in the opening set against Plainfield East. There was only one tie, at 1-1, before the Bengals went on a 7-1 run to lead 8-2. 

The No. 17 Steelmen still trailed 18-12 before chipping away and getting within 21-19 and then 23-21 on a kill by junior outside hitter Delany Moran, who led the team with six kills. But a block by senior middle hitter Bailey Jackson (7 kills, 5 blocks) and a kill from junior right side hitter Gabby Schemidt (match-high 10 kills) ended the opener.

"I told the team beforehand that whoever wins is going to have the lesser of the errors," O'Connell said. "It was good to see us comeback in the first set. But that seemed to be our theme all season. We were always clawing our way back and trying to bridge that gap." 

Unfortunately, the gap in the second set got wide right away. Things started well for the Steelmen as junior middle hitter Makinsey Whitmore (2 kills) had a block and senior setter Sadie Johnson jolted an ace for a 2-0 lead, 

But Plainfield East scored the next four points to lead for good. Ahead 6-5, the Bengals went on a 10-1 blitz for a 16-6 advantage. They extended to a 22-9 lead and coasted. 

Reyna Franchini, a senior right side hitter, had a pair of kills, and junior defensive specialist Andrea Mireles added three digs.

The Bengals had Faith, literally. Faith Fitzgerald, a senior setter/right side hitter had a great all-around match with 11 assists, three kills, three blocks, five digs, and two aces. Senior setter Emma Rivera had eight assists and two aces, while senior libero Marissa Romero added four digs for Plainfield East.

In the regional semifinals, on Tuesday, October 29, top-seeded Lockport ended the season for the No. 16-seeded Bengals (9-27) by a score of 25-15, 25-20. In the other semifinal, No. 7 Bolingbrook (17-17) toppled No. 9 seeded Waubonsie Valley 25-20, 23-25, 25-19.

In the regional title match, on Thursday, October, 31, the host Porters (32-5) defeated Bolingbrook, 25-18, 25-13 to win their 28th regional title in school history and reach the most victories since 34 in 1997.

Plainfield East defeated the Steelmen 25-13, 25-21 in the team's Southwest Prairie matchup on Thursday, September 26 in Plainfield. 

After being the interim head coach last season, O'Connell took over as official coach this season. The team improved by one win from 2023.

"Sadie Johnson was the glue to our team," O'Connell said. "She was going for every ball and never complained. Plus, Delany (Moran) had the best season of her three varsity years and has one more. I'm excited to see her talent improve."

Johnson, a 3-year varsity player, ended her final high school match with 10 assists, four digs, and two aces. She is one of eight seniors that will graduate. The others are Quetzal Beltran, Aaliyah Calderon, Aaliyah Castillo, Magaly Chavez, Maritza Duarte, Franchini, and Vianney Moreno.

"I'm sad it's over," Johnson said. "I wish we could have done better but we had a good season and it was a good run. Having coach O'Connell was great.  

"Personally, this was my best season. I made a lot of best friends and I'll miss it."