Joslyn's time to shine

Edwards' strong play at net lifts Central past North

PLAINFIELD -- With the atmosphere befitting of a state playoff matchup, Plainfield Central High School's volleyball team grabbed a share of the Southwest Prairie Conference lead by downing highly regarded Plainfield North 25-15, 24-26, 25-23 on Thursday night.

The Wildcats broke open a 6-6 tie in the first game when sophomore Joslyn Edwards gave Central the lead for good with a kill shot. The Wildcats methodically built a 15-11 advantage. And, when Edwards had a block at the net for a point, that began a stretch of six straight points for Central.

The Wildcats went on to grab the first game 25-15 and put North in the unfamiliar position of trailing in a match.

"For sure, this was an excellent teaching tool," Plainfield North coach Kerri McCastland said. "We have to learn how to play in this type of environment, and we have to learn to play smarter."

With a loud student contingent there to give Central a comfortable home-court feeling, the Tigers and Wildcats battled tooth and nail in the second game, with neither team being able to build a lead larger than two points. Junior Megan Trubich lifted Central to a 24-23 lead with a kill shot, but the Tigers staved off elimination in the second game.

When Central's next serve went out of bounds. Amber DeWeerdt's point on a kill put the Tigers in back in the lead and Arianna Villarubia finished the second game with a block at the net for the final point.

Behind strong play in the third game from Kylee Baker, North grabbed the momentum and seemed to have the game under control with a 12-5 lead.

"We have been working on our mental game and it showed tonight," Central coach Beth Fahey said. "The girls were on a mission and they came out with a goal and they accomplished it."

With Stephanie Kirkpatrick serving, Central reeled off seven consecutive points to bring the Wildcats and their crowd back into the game.

"Stephanie Kirkpatrick is a phenomenal athlete," Fahey said. "She's right there to pick up the ball in the back row and she plays sideline-to-sideline."

After Kirkpatrick served Central to a 12-12 tie, neither team was able to build a lead larger than three points the rest of the way. And, while North had numerous shots blocked at the net, South seemed to put the ball in the right place time-after-time.

"We are an excellent serving team and we found some holes and served to them," Fahey said.

While North played without sophomore Sarah Scott, who is expected to be back this weekend, it was Edwards, a sophomore for Central, who provided the last two points for the Wildcats.

"All the girls who went out and replaced Sarah tonight did great," McCastland said. "We just didn't play well enough on defense."

For Fahey, things will be a little better around the house. Her husband Kevin is a teacher and coach at North, and despite his allegiance to the Tigers, Tuesday night he was a Wildcats backer.

"He definitely knows what color to wear when we play against each other," Beth said.

"I root for North every game except the two that we play against Central," Kevin said.

And on this night, the Wildcats took bragging rights.

Central improved to 17-11 and 11-1 in the conference, while North slipped to 20-2 and 11-1.

Both teams have matches left against Plainfield South and Romeoville to close out conference play.