Plainfield Central is young.
VERY young.
With only two seniors on the roster, the Wildcats typically start two freshmen, two sophomores, a junior and a senior.
So looking to jell through the early works of the season, Central is obviously looking for wins, but also just being a cohesive unit. Visiting Plainfield South Tuesday in a Southwest Prairie matchup, the Wildcats rolled in a 25-13, 25-18 win.
“The more we work together, talk and help each other out as a team, not just as individuals, the better we’re going to be,” Central’s Elizabeth Hyland said. “Certain games we don’t do that, don’t talk, and that’s when we don’t do as well.”
In Hyland, the Wildcats have a junior with two years of varsity experience under her belt. The junior outside led Central (5-5, 2-2) with 11 kills with Ashley Shook (5 kills) and Addison Taylor (5 digs) contributing.
Pulling away in the first set, Central rattled off a 7-0 run that extended its lead to 19-10. At one point, a sophomore, Jonna Pozananski, a freshman, Shook, and Hyland, a junior, strung three straight kills together as part of the run.
“We’ve got players who are so many different ages, teams don’t necessarily expect it,” Hyland said. “We’re setting a freshman up with a sophomore. It gives us a little bit different dynamic.”
Falling behind 17-15 in the second set, Central turned to one of its two seniors to right the ship. Allyson Lindish reeled off a 7-0 service run to regain the lead, Hyland slamming five kills as part of the set-turning run.
“(As a senior), the team looks to me sometimes, and that’s motivation to do my best,” Lindish said. “The team is growing as a whole. It’s a Plainfield school (rivalry) too so you always want to win those.”
Shook closed the match out with back-to-back kills, the winner coming off an errant South dig.
Jordan McNeill (3 kills, 2 aces), Brianna Langys (2 kills), Deysha Thompson (2 kills) and Alyssa O’Boyle (10 assists) paced Plainfield South (5-9, 1-2).
“We’re looking for a leader to step up,” South coach Amy Larson said. “We need the girls to be mentally tougher. They make a mistake, and we get down on ourselves. It’s a big goal to get over that obstacle.”
