Girls Volleyball: Plainfield Central tops Plainfield South
By Tim O’Brien For Sun-Times Media October 4, 2012 10:58PM
Updated: November 6, 2012 6:23AM
As a freshman who saw significant court time on a senior-dominated team in 2011, Plainfield Central’s Elizabeth Hyland did her best to act like a sponge: listen, observe and take it all in.
Now a team captain as a sophomore, Hyland has been a go-to player for the Wildcats. The outside hitter had seven kills and four aces to lead Central in a 25-14, 25-13 Southwest Prairie victory over host Plainfield South in a Volley for the Cure match.
“Last year was such a building year for me,” Hyland said. “I learned a lot from my sister, Erin, and all the seniors, and I’m trying to mimic last year’s leaders now.”
Hannah Evatt (9 assists), Erin Eulitz (9 digs) and Shannon Hagen (6 blocks) also contributed for Central (9-17, 5-5).
“Elizabeth is a leader, and we don’t look at her as a sophomore,” Central coach Jessica Clark said. “She’s one of our smartest all-around players.”
South (5-16-1, 3-7) was led by Jordan McNeill (9 digs, 2 kills) and Kayleigh Harper (8 digs, 2 assists).
After the Wildcats totaled six aces in the first set, Hyland’s smart play sparked the team early in the second. The sophomore placed a hit deep over the defense for a kill, then added three aces as part of a lightning-quick 7-0 run after Central fell behind 6-3.
“We were just more positive and shook off our mistakes,” Hyland said. “We were having fun. There were smiles on the court.”
The rout was on as Central went on an extended 20-4 run. South aided the cause by committing nine errors. Hagen’s and Hyland’s back-to-back kills finished out the match. Central had 11 service aces overall.
“We were out of sorts, and there wasn’t a lot of emotion on the court,” South coach Amy Larson said. “We were out of system all night, and that hurt us.”
