Plainfield North defeats Central to reach regional title match

Plainfield North won 25-10 and 25-13 against host Plainfield Central on Tuesday night. The victory advanced the Tigers to the regional championship. It was their first win in the postseason.

North improved to a 16-20 record. Central fell to 11-17. The Tigers had lost to the Wildcats three weeks earlier in the regular season. Coach Matt Slechta said his team used a different lineup in that previous game, which occurred on Plainfield North’s senior night. He noted the group looked more comfortable with its regular rotation on Tuesday.

Slechta credited his staff’s scouting report for the win. “I thought we just kind of came in ready to go from the first tip tonight,” he said. “We had a good scouting report based off what we saw last time and executed everything well.”

Senior libero Sophie Stahl identified serving as a key factor. “I think, for sure, our serves, and just trying to stay consistent was a big thing for us coming into the postseason,” Stahl said. “Just having our serves over and in and not making them go out is really helpful for us.”

Slechta acknowledged defensive struggles throughout the regular season. “We’ve been struggling a little bit defensively, getting a dig, and scoring in transition,” he said. “That has been our focus in the last two weeks, I thought we did a really good job of that tonight.” He noted that a third of the team’s matches went to three sets, including losses to Minooka and Yorkville.

For Central, the loss marked the end of the season for its senior class. Coach Bob Richardson IV said those seniors helped set the program’s culture. “It felt like we had a lot of confidence earlier in the year,” Richardson said. “In the last two weeks, we’ve had a lot of games that have just kind of gone up on us. We’ve had a fundraiser game, senior night and a tournament that we hosted.”

North faces Lockport at 6 p.m. Thursday at Plainfield Central. Lockport, which holds a 31-5 record, defeated Thornwood 25-5 and 25-15 in its semifinal. Quinn Higham led the Porters with eight kills, Josephine Baranowski had 10 assists, and Malley Green served five aces.