|
The Lincoln Lady Railers' volleyball season ended last night when a
great effort fell short in the Normal West Sectional semifinal match
against Bloomington High School. The final match score was 18-25,
25-23 and 18-25. The Lady Railers finish a fine season at 27-11 and
as champions of their regional. Bloomington moves on to play Normal
Community on Thursday in the sectional final. There is not a tougher
supersectional complex in the state of Illinois, in my opinion.
It has been my practice over the years not to give the
"blow-by-blow" details of the last match of the season. I will
continue that tradition here. I will, on the other hand, comment on
the "victorious" part of last night's loss. As I have said on more
than one occasion in this column, the thing that should be rewarded
above all else in high school athletics is "maximum effort." No one
loves to win more than I do, and no one hates to lose more than I
do. BUT, I can take a loss when that loss comes after a team gives
it their all. Last night the Lady Railers, as a team, and without
exception, gave it their all. What more could any high school
program ask for?
Having lost game one to Bloomington and down 12-18 in game two,
these ladies could have given up. They chose not to. Instead, they
fought their way back to win game two and force a three-game match.
That was only possible because of their mental desire to win
and their unbelievable physical effort to pull it off. I am
standing and applauding you, the 2005 Lincoln Lady Railers
volleyball team! Your efforts deserve a standing ovation!
A special ovation goes to the three departing seniors: Michelle
Fitzpatrick, Erin Frick and Shanan McLaughlin. A special "thanks" to
you and your families for all you have meant to the ongoing
tradition of Lincoln Railer volleyball. We wish you the best as you
finish your senior year and we get to watch you walk across the
stage to get your diplomas as part of the class of 2006. Finish
well.
[to top of second column in this article]
|
 And now about the future of this fine high school volleyball
program.
They'll be back. Here is my varsity volleyball math word
problem lesson for the day: What do you get when you add together
the following: three seasoned juniors, seven more seasoned
sophomores, two maturing freshman, a host of other young ladies who
excelled on this year's record-setting junior varsity and freshman
teams, four great coaches, one great volleyball tradition, and a
large group of sacrificial parents, extended families and fans? It's
easy. The answer is: the 2006 version of the Lincoln Community High
School volleyball team. They will definitely be back next season!
So, until then, thanks to all of you for reading my ramblings
this year. My solitary goal is to encourage this fine group of young
ladies (including the young ladies who coach these younger ladies).
To the extent I have done that, then my work here has been
successful. If you have any comments, pro or con, feel free to
e-mail me at rhobler@lccs.edu or send your comments to the
editor of
Lincoln Daily News, if you prefer.
Thanks again to the fine folks at Lincoln Daily News for giving
me the space to publish. A special thanks to its hardworking editor,
Jan Younquist, for her support, encouragement and patience with this
freelance writer. Thanks also to my friend Kevin McFadden for some
super pictures this season! They add so much to the entire
presentation.
And, as always… GO, RAILERS!!
[Rick
Hobler] Respond to the writer at
rhobler@lccs.edu.
 |
