Yes, Joliet West defeated Joliet Central in girls volleyball Tuesday night. It was a clean sweep, 25-15, 25-8.

Tuesday night was about far more than volleyball, though. It was a night in which two rivals came together for a united cause that was far bigger than volleyball.

The evening event was known as Pink Heals. Both West and Central came together to try and raise money for breast cancer charities. Both teams dawned pink uniforms while various booths were set up in the gym hallways for food, donations and more. It bonded the two communities together outside of any rivalry, sport or other event.

“This night’s about way more than volleyball,” Joliet West coach Chris Lincoln said. “We raised a significant amount of money. I want to say they raised close to $6,000 when we hosted two years ago. It’s a pretty big event and our assistant coaches do a great job at organizing and putting it together.”

The match itself gave Joliet West (29-3) reason to celebrate, too, though. Things were somewhat competitive in the first set before the Tigers managed to pull away. The second set, on the other hand, was all Joliet West. It was at match point when Joliet Central scored three unanswered before Joliet West ended the game.

“We just played clean, consistent volleyball,” Lincoln said. “We did a good job executing. We were a little slow at first, but we played some good defense and had some good saves. Just good clean volleyball.”

It was the usual suspects who got the job done for the Tigers. Julia Adams put up 19 assists with three digs while Lina Govoni added 11 assists and three digs. Lexie Grevengoed (eight kills) and Eden Eyassu (eight digs) put up their usual impressive numbers as well.

Govoni noted that all meetings between the Tigers and Steelmen always means a bit more.

“Obviously we don’t have to talk about our skill,” she said. “Our record speaks for itself and we’re pretty humble on the court. This is probably the only game of the year, though, where that genuinely doesn’t matter. Both our teams, Central and West, are on the court for a bigger reason.

“There’s no beef or anything. Just, instead of rival schools, we’re friends. That fueled our side of the court. We both have so much fun during this game.”

Still, even Govoni noted Tuesday was about far more than a game.

“This was so important,” she said. “Not just for Joliet West or Joliet Central but the entire community. This raised money for 150 families last year so for us to be able to reach our community and impact our county by playing volleyball and doing what we love is so fun.”

Steelmen coach Kevin O’Connell would’ve preferred a win, of course. The Steelmen (5-18) could have used it as they near the end of the regular season. He, too, saw the significance of the evening.

“It’s a great thing for our community,” O’Connell said. “Uniting Joliet Central and Joliet West to where for one night we’re not rivals, we’re just gathered for one cause. It’s just great for our district.”

Joliet Central visits Plainfield North on Thursday, which will be the same night Joliet West visits Bolingbrook. Lincoln said the Tigers will just need to keep doing what they’ve done all season.

“We just need to focus on consistency and staying in it,” Lincoln said. “This season we’ve already played 32 matches, but these girls are hungry. We just need to keep competitive and keep in it. It’s easy to drift away from that, but I think they trust each other right now, so it’s just about keeping that trust there.”