By Randy Whalen

Going 1-2 in a Saturday tournament might not sound great. But the way it happened showed the improvement of the Joliet Central girls' volleyball team.

The Steelmen hosted their own Peg Bryan Steelmen Invite on Saturday, September 7 at the Joliet Central Fieldhouse and Gym. The one-day tournament featured eight teams and every team played three matches. 

The tourney is named after Peg Bryan. A three-time cancer survivor and a Joliet Central/Township volleyball scorekeeper for nearly 20 years, Bryan lost her fight with the disease in 2012.

Each match for Joliet Central went three sets. While the Steelmen won the first one and lost the next two, they showed their improvement as they hung in with some good teams and took fourth overall.

"We had the same record here but a different placement," said Joliet Central coach Kevin O'Connell, whose team placed seventh a year ago. "We're now 2-3 overall and it's not a bad start to the season. It gives the girls an opportunity to play different teams, overcome their mistakes, and improve their mental capacity."

In the opening match, Joliet Central overcame its mistakes with a 25-15, 23-25, 25-19 win over Rich Township. Senior setter/opposite side hitter Sadie Johnson (13 assists, 4 aces) and junior outside hitter Delany Moran (8 digs and 5 aces) led the way with six kills apiece, while sophomore outside hitter Camryn Brown added five kills and four aces. Junior libero Izabel Barrera added eight digs and two aces.

The Raptors beat East Aurora 25-16, 23-25, 25-20 in the next match before falling to Plainfield Central  25-14, 25-12 in the fifth-place match.    

"Our energy just needs to stay up," Johnson said. "We need to elevate, be a little tougher, and make sure that everyone is happy no matter what. Delany (Moran) kept us up most of the day."

Moran helped keep the Steelmen in it the next match as she led the team with four kills, five aces, and 14 digs. That was a 25-9, 19-25, 25-20 loss to a good Oak Forest team. After losing the opening set decisively, they scored nine points right away. Johnson started the set with an ace and that helped the Steelmen race to an 8-1 lead. Sophomore middle hitter Cali Judd jolted a block to make it 9-2 and the advantage grew to 11-2. Junior middle hitter Makinsey Whitmore also had a trio of kills for Joliet Central in the match.

The Bengals clawed back within 17-15 but couldn't get closer. Johnson, who finished with five assists and nine digs, had two of her three kills at the end of the second set to win. In the third set, Oak Forest jumped out to a 12-7 lead. The Steelmen hung in there and took a 20-19 lead on a net violation. But never scored again as senior outside hitter Zoey Aldarondo had kills for the 23rd and final points in a 6-0 run that ended the match.

"We have to stay out of our heads," said Judd, who added three kills against Oak Forest. "If we mess up we beat ourselves up mentally. But we can still do well this season. We have a lot of continuity and we've grown so much better already."

In the third place match, Joliet Central couldn't continue the momentum of a first-set win and lost 19-25, 25-21, 25-17 to Crete-Monee. Trailing 15-8 in the second set, the Steelmen had a 5-0 run to get within two. But never got closer, although an ace from senior setter/opposite side hitter Magaly Chavez drew them within 22-18. 

The score was tied 8-8 in the third set before the Warriors (5-3 through Sept. 10) went on a 6-0 run to take charge. Senior outside hitter Rhian Crittenden had a pair of aces and senior middle hitter Alexis Wieczorek had a kill and a block in the burst. Ahead 15-11, Crete-Monee had a 5-0 spurt as freshman outside hitter Lucy Joyce jolted three kills.

Johnson (7 kills, 3 assists, 6 digs), Moran (4 kills, 4 assists, 9 digs), Judd (3 kills), and senior setter Martiza Duarte (4 assists) also contributed for the Steelmen against Crete-Monee. Judd and Moran made the All-Tournament team.

"I like being a part of this program," Moran said. "We went from seventh last year to fourth this season. We just have to figure out how to put it all together as a team. When we are on, we are good. We just have to minimize our errors."

In the title match, Deer Creek-Mackinaw defeated Oak Forest 25-12, 25-20. The Chiefs were 7-2 through September 10, while Oak Forest was 7-4 through the same date. TF South defeated East Aurora 25-19, 26-24 to take seventh in the tourney.

"We can be really, really good," O'Connell said. "But consistency is what we have to work on."