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[OCT. 29, 2001]  Never take any team for granted. Take each match one at a time. Two postseason truths. Saturday night the Lady Railers heeded these truths and dominated the Rantoul Lady Eagles 15-4, 15-3 to claim the regional title. The Railers were so dominant that the match took only 30 minutes to finish. The Lady Railers (27-7-1) move on to play Effingham in the Charleston Sectional on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Behind the excellent serving of Kelli Gleason, Christina Xamis and Samantha Conrady, and great blocking by the entire front line, the Railers rolled to victory in Game 1. In fact, the only time the Railers trailed was at 0-1. Every point Rantoul scored in Game 1 came when an over-pumped-up Railer hit the ball long on an over-zealous kill. Not a bad problem to have.

[Darcy White, Tina Cook and Kelli Gleason,
LCHS seniors, accept the trophy for the team.]

At 0-1, Kelli Gleason stepped to the service line. A powerful kill by Tina Cook, two aces by Kelli, and two suffocating blocks by Tina Cook and Michelle McFadden, and the Lady Railers led 6-1. Rantoul’s next three scores came when Lady Railers missed on front-line kills. After an ace serve by Darcy White put the Railers up 7-4, Christina Xamis came in and worked her magic at the service line. Once Christina put the ball in play, three faulty hits by Rantoul and a kill by Tina Cook put the Railers ahead 11-4. Missy Aper and Samantha Conrady finished off the Eagles as great Railer hustle and excellent net blocking brought home the victory.

If the Railers appeared to dominate in Game 1, they were even more dominant in Game 2. Having worked off some of the overkill adrenaline, the Railers settled down, some smiles appeared on their faces between plays, and they took care of business. Once again, it was the serving of Samantha Conrady, Christina Xamis and Kelli Gleason that secured the regional championship. These three accounted for 13 of the Railer points. Kari McFadden and Darcy White had the remaining two service points.

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The Railers methodically eliminated Rantoul by once again playing well together and with good hustle and energy. Front-line blocking was again crucial to the victory. The game and the match ended on a seven-point service run by the quiet but powerful Samantha Conrady. With Samantha at the service line, a dink and a kill by Darcy White as well as a game-ending kill by Kari McFadden brought the evening to a close.

Overall it was a good first postseason match for the Railers. Their serves and blocking skills seemed even more impressive than usual. Excellent, well-placed serves by Samantha Conrady, Kelli Gleason and Christina Xamis were crucial to the championship. Samantha ended with 10 service points, including two aces, while Kelli and Christina ended with nine and seven points, respectively, including three aces. An additional ace by Darcy White brought the team total for the night to six.

The entire team hustled through several extended rallies with a "never let it drop on our side" attitude. Defensive blocking by Michelle McFadden, Tina Cook and Kari McFadden ended several Rantoul scoring attempts.

All of these game attributes will be crucial as the Railers move on through the postseason.

Congratulations on being regional champions! You earned it all year long, match by match. You also earned your No. 1 seed. Now you’ll have to defend it each night.

Beginning today, you face two more contrasting tournament truths — The competition gets better in each successive match; there is no tomorrow.

GO, RAILERS!

[Rick Hobler]

[OCT. 26, 2001]   

Results

At Farmer City

Mount Pulaski defeated Blue Ridge 15-2, 15-7.

At Tremont

Hartsburg-Emden defeated Olympia 6-15, 15-6, 15-7.  This was H-E coach Jennifer Hayes’ 200th career victory!

Upcoming matches

At Fairbury -- Tuesday

Mount Pulaski vs. University High, 6:30 p.m.

Central Catholic vs. Hartsburg-Emden, 7:30 p.m.

At Fairbury -- Thursday

Championship game, 7 p.m.

[OCT. 25, 2001]   Rantoul defeated Charleston last night in the Lincoln Regional semifinal volleyball action by the match score of 11-15, 15-10 and 15-6. Lincoln will face Rantoul at 7 p.m. this Saturday for the regional championship. The winner will also earn the right to play next Tuesday in the Charleston Sectional.

Rantoul will be looking for revenge on Saturday. Lincoln previously defeated Rantoul in a regular season, non-conference match in late September.

In last night’s match, Rantoul’s Kindi Schlittler had nine kills and Rachel Idues had nine service points to help their team to victory. Also for the winners, Katie Schmidt had six blocks. Rantoul’s record stands at 15-17.

For the losing Charleston Lady Trojans, who end their season at 14-19, Audra Roach had 13 kills and Amanda Cutright had six kills. Denise Wright added eight points and 15 assists, and Ashley Duzan contributed four blocks.

The doors will open at LCHS and ticket sales will begin at 6 p.m. this Saturday. All tickets are $3, with the price being set by the IHSA.

GO, RAILERS!!

[Rick Hobler]

[OCT. 25, 2001]   The Lincoln College volleyball season came to an end Wednesday night as the sixth-ranked Lady Lynx lost to third-ranked Shawnee in three games. The Lynx lost 30-24, 30-26, 30-22. 

Beth Guy, a Hartem graduate, continued her fine play with 22 set assists, nine points and five aces, while Janine Buettner added eight points, two aces and five kills. Molly Owens contributed six kills and two blocks, while Amy Cox had four points, six kills and two blocks.

Coach Mark Tippett said: "I felt we grew a lot as a team this season. I was pleased with the way they responded during my first season as coach.  We were competitive and in nearly all of our matches. I am looking forward to next year, as we have eight returning.  If we can get a few good recruits, we should be able to show a lot of improvement."

Lincoln College completed its season with a 14-17 record.

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

[OCT. 24, 2001]   

At Farmer City

In Prairie Central Sectional, Mount Pulaski defeated Heyworth 15-1, 15-1

Match 5: Mount Pulaski to play Blue Ridge at 7 p.m. Thursday for regional championship

Match 24: Winner of Match 5 plays winner of Match 11 (Lexington vs. University High)

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At Tremont

Olympia defeated Eureka 15-4, 15-11

Hartsburg-Emden defeated Deer Creek-
Mackinaw 15-6, 15-10

Match 23: Olympia to play Hartsburg-Emden at 7 p.m. Thursday for regional championship

Match 25: Winner of Match 23 plays winner of Match 17 (Central Catholic vs. Flanagan game)

Match 26: Winner of Match 25 plays winner of Match 24 for championship

[OCT. 18, 2001]   

•  I say, tip the hat to Railer football coach John Oaks. While they haven’t had the success that everyone would like to see, good programs are not produced overnight. How long did it take the LCHS volleyball team to become an annual power? And do you realize that the Railer hoops squad has been a dominant team for several decades? Take away a few breakdowns and a few bad bounces, and you’re not only looking at a couple of wins but you’re looking at a competitive team. Here’s hoping that coach Oaks and his staff will stay around a few years and build the program to a competitive level. If Taylorville can do it, so can Lincoln!

•  If you missed the fifth volleyball scuffle between LC and LCC Tuesday night, you missed a fan’s smorgasbord. The match went the full five games and looked like it was headed for several additional minutes of play. While I’m sure coach Crawford was not exactly thrilled with the performance of his team, some credit must go to coach Tippett and the Lady Lynx. They seemed to out-hustle the Angels all night and seemed to want the game a little more. It could be passed off by saying that LCC was looking ahead to this weekend’s regional matches in Chicago. Whatever the case, the LDN is going on record now as saying that both of these clubs have the potential to be very dangerous during the playoffs. Look for both to pull off their share of surprises.

•  We’re also wishing good luck to the before-mentioned Lady Railer volleyball squad. Coach Howe seems to have them primed for another long postseason run. Wouldn’t you like to see that really BIG trophy-plaque sitting in the glass case in good ol’ Roy S. Anderson gym?…

[Jeff Mayfield]

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