Cue the celebrations: Plains dominates in sectional volleyball championship win
PLEASANT PLAINS — The ball had just touched the floor before Izzy Lynch, Paige Weatherford and Zoe Hiltabrand jumped in celebration only to be momentarily mobbed with the rest of their teammates.
Jordan Butcher put down the final kill to polish off Pleasant Plains’ volleyball sectional championship — her second straight kill — as the Cardinals beat Carthage Illini West 25-14, 25-16 to win the Class 2A Pleasant Plains Sectional crown on Wednesday.
“We’ve definitely come a long way and coach (Denise Dufour) stood up at the beginning of the season and said we better be playing in November and we’ve been working hard for that all season,” Weatherford said. “We’re here, it’s Nov. 1, we made it.”
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Plains (30-9) will meet Breese Mater Dei (30-6) in the 2A Carlinville Supersectional on Friday at 6 p.m. with a trip to the state semifinals at Redbird Arena in Normal on the line.
It was the third straight sectional title for Pleasant Plains. The Cardinals finished second in 2A in 2021 and were the 2018 Class 2A state champions.
“I’m so overwhelmed and happy for them,” said Plains’ seventh-year coach. “I’ve been a little bit under the weather this week and they’ve really kept my energy going. I just want what’s best for them.”
Keeping Chargers in check
In the first game, Plains turned a 9-8 edge into a 12-8 lead before Illini West coach Dakota Lafferty used her first timeout. Three points by Plains later, she had to burn her last one in the first set.
Dufour said her team used those timeouts to try to figure out what adjustments Lafferty would implement, and it worked brilliantly the first time. After the second timeout, the Chargers responded with a 4-0 run to get back within 16-12.
“Anybody that does a proper scout report will know that Josie Bryan is our power hitter, they know that we’ve got two twin towers in the middle and one likes to tip and one likes to hit,” Lafferty said. “I thought Pleasant Plains anticipated everything that we did very well. Maybe we could’ve used some different options but you have your players that dominate through the season so you trust them to get it done."
Dufour said the Cardinals focused on Illini West’s hitters Bryan and Reagan Reed. When Plains’ Sydney McAfee was asked if her counterparts were really that good, she said, “Oh my gosh, yeah. My goodness.”
But McAfee added that Dufour’s preparation had the Cardinals ready.
“She gave us a great game plan, we stuck to it exactly and it couldn’t have gone any better,” McAfee said. “Anna (Weber) dominated in the middle, Zoe (Hiltabrand) dominated in the middle, Willow (Milkint) and Jordan (Butcher) on the right side couldn’t have gone any better.”
McAfee and Milkint each had five kills in the final set.
Home cooking
Dufour said nerves always come into play in big postseason matches but being on the Cardinals’ home floor gave her team a sense of calm.
“The execution that they showed and how much emotion they played with tonight, that was great to see,” Dufour said.
Lafferty was complimentary toward Plains.
“I wouldn’t say it was poor performance on us but Pleasant Plains played phenomenal,” Lafferty said. “I’ve watched five matches on them and I’ve not seen them play as well as they did tonight. They got a hand on every ball we threw at them, whether it was a hard hit, a tip, a roll shot, two off the block: they touched everything we threw at them. You could tell it’s a fundamental team that’s played together.”
More: Photo gallery: Pleasant Plains volleyball wins 2A North Mac regional title over Athens
The Cardinals need just one win to advance to the state tournament for the third time in school history. McAfee says the team has the characteristics to succeed.
“There’s no better feeling, knowing we can come together as a team, push through the hard games and just trust each other to win,” McAfee said.
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA volleyball: Pleasant Plains makes quick work of Illini West
