Girls volleyball: Plainfield Central outlasts Morris in 3-set thriller

PLAINFIELD – Heading into Monday night’s nonconference match against Morris, Plainfield Central had played six three-set matches in a row.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they had lost their past five of those.

On Monday, the three-set streak continued, but the losing streak ended as Central (2-7) picked up a 25-14, 20-25, 25-20 victory.

Senior outside hitter Alivia Arsenault was a force for the Wildcats at the net, finishing with nine kills and two blocks, while teammate Malaya Morris had eight kills. Natalie Suffecool turned the first set around with her serving and finished the night with two aces. Alexa Schubbe added two aces and three blocks for Central, while Mya Broadway had a team-high six digs.

“This was a really good win,” Arsenault said. “Almost every one of our matches this year has gone three sets, and it felt really good to finally win one. We got it together, worked really hard and our serve was good for us all night.

“To be able to get a win against a good team like Morris will hopefully start something for us. We needed a win like this to get some confidence and prove to ourselves that we can do it.”

The first set was tight early, but Morris was able to take an 11-9 lead after a kill by Ayla Phillips. After a Morris serving error made it 11-10, Suffecool stepped to the service line for Central.

By the time she was done, she had delivered one ace and Central had scored eight points – three on kills by Arsenault – to take an 18-11 lead. Morris was unable to cut into the lead and Central cruised to the first-set win.

In the second set, Morris (7-2) improved in all facets, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and never trailing. An ace by Phillips put Morris ahead 18-11. Central rallied a bit and cut it to 24-20 before Morris’ Lily Hansen won the set with a kill.

Hansen had five kills on the night for Morris, while Hannah Linn led the team with eight and Rosemary Misener added seven. Alexis Williams had 25 assists.

“We struggled on serve receive in the first set,” Morris coach Scott Howell said. “We found our groove a little bit in the second set, but we were too slow on defense and made too many mistakes in the third set.

“Our middles – Hansen and Misener – played well, and so did Hannah Linn. But it all came down to defense and we were just too slow, which is uncharacteristic for us. It’s a good lesson for us that we have to come to play every match.”

Morris took the early lead in the third set, going up 9-7 after an ace by Grace Emmerich, but the Wildcats refused to break. They rallied to take a 13-10 lead after an ace by Schubbe, but Morris countered and took a 15-14 lead on a kill by Phillips.

The score was tied at 15 and 16 before Central took the lead for good on kills from Kylie Bakhaus and Arsenault and a Morris net violation to go up 19-16. A kill and two blocks by Arsenault helped the Wildcats to a 24-18 lead. Morris got a point on a double-hit violation and another on a kill by Emilee Doss, but a Morris serving error ended the match.

“Our girls never hung their heads,” Central coach Bob Richardson IV said. “They are a close-knit group, and they all support each other. We’re still learning. Of the 13 players on our roster, only two had varsity experience before this year. We are still learning to get comfortable in games.

“We’ve had stretches all season where we played well, but tonight we were able to put it all together for an entire match. They all really play for each other. They don’t care who gets the set or who gets kills, as long as somebody does.”