Girls volleyball: Johnson, Neuqua Valley overpower Naperville Central
You probably don't want to be on the receiving end of a Faith Johnson return.
You might get hurt, perhaps seriously.
The powerful right arm of the Neuqua Valley senior outside hitter played a large role in her team's 25-12, 23-25, 25-22 girls volleyball defeat of host Naperville Central on Thursday.
She led the Wildcats with 13 kills, out of 31 attempts, and rallied her team from a 17-14 deficit in the third set, after her team jumped out to leads of 7-1 and 11-6. Not bad, considering Naperville Central had a substantial student section that got loud, especially when the Redhawks reclaimed the lead in that third set.
"Since it's their house, we know they're going to have a big crowd and they're going to be cheering, and it's going to be loud and intense," said Johnson, who also finished with 6 digs. "I feel like our team really feeds off that energy and we just apply it into our play. On the court we played amazing. We played together, we were cohesive and we held each other accountable."
The Wildcats ended the night tied with Waubonsie Valley for first place in the DuPage Valley Conference with 6-2 records. The Warriors swept DeKalb 25-15, 25-11 on Senior Night. Overall, Neuqua Valley is 21-11.
Of course, Johnson didn't do it alone, but she made the most of her contributions. In the decisive third set her emphatic kill late pulled Neuqua Valley to 18-17. She added another shortly afterward to tie the match at 19-19, then proceeded to the serving line and promptly recorded an ace. Another Johnson kill, and the Wildcats were up 21-19.
They never looked back, getting the winning points off a co-block by sophomore Liel Thomas and senior Ally Knapczyk, and then a Knapczyk ace.
"We've been playing together since seventh grade, so it's been a true opportunity to play with her and against her at points in the club season," said senior libero Bailey Houlihan, who was no slouch, with 20 digs and had a big serving run to start the first set. "I love playing with her and her energy."
For as good as Johnson was, Naperville Central senior outside hitter Kayla Closset may have been a shade better, what with 18 kills and 11 digs. She personally reversed a 20-18 deficit in the second set - which boasted 14 tie scores - with a series of kills, including the game-winner.
"I think our service has been a lot better than it's been, and I think just focusing on getting out to the pins and really putting it down was a focus of ours," Closset said. "Neuqua came out swinging hard and playing defense, picking up everything, and I think we countered that and had really good defense as well. It was point for point."
Alas, the Redhawks fell a game behind Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley at 5-3 in the DVC, 22-6 overall. Senior outside hitter Madeline Bylak had 12 kills, while senior setter Grace Butler had 25 assists, 3 digs and 2 aces.
But Naperville Central coach Brie Isaacson had glowing words for Closset's play.
"Kayla is super-dynamic," Isaacson said. "She's been on this team for three years. She got pulled up a little bit as a freshman, but she's been predominantly on this team sophomore, junior and senior year, and she plays like it. She's our captain, she's our leader, and when things aren't going well, we set her the ball all over the place and she does a good job responding."