Looking in the crystal (volley)ball

Lady Railers postseason preview, Part 2         

By Rick Hobler

[The volleyball postseason pairings are set by the IHSA. If you would like to look at them and make your own predictions, the pairings can be found at http://www.ihsa.org/activity/vbg/index.htm. You can click on the pairings link or the bracket link for the Normal Community supersectional and see how the teams are paired up.]

[OCT. 25, 2005]  Having looked in my own crystal (volley)ball, I predict the following matches and hope for the following results:

In game one of the regional, I see an overwhelming victory by the Railers against a Prairie Central team that is currently 0-23 (as of early last week), unless the Railers forget to show up.

In the regional final I see a tough win over Normal University High (22-10 as of last week) in which the Railers prevail because they didn't take the match for granted and because they had so much home fan support that both teams were overwhelmed in their own way. I see signs in the gym saying things like "Not in our House!" and "Railers Refuse to Lose." I see a regional plaque being handed to the Railers and held high with pride in front of the cheering Railer fans. In order to win, the Railers had to neutralize the net play and serving of U-High's Kyndell Highland, the excellent setting and serving of Regina Feagin, and the defensive skills of Kelsey Swango.

In the sectional semifinal I see a long overdue payback being deposited on Bloomington High School's Purple Raiders (who knew that Raiders were purple anyway, except in Barney-ville?) in a potentially three-game match. I see punishing kills and solid blocks on our side of the net, neutralizing the front-line talent of BHS, consisting primarily of Katie Seyller, Kristin Petrinec, Ashley Beyer and Kasey Heckelman. I see Lady Railers letting nothing hit the floor on their side of the net unless Lady Railers hit the floor first in an attempt to keep the ball alive. I see Railer fans in red and green, some with "LCHS" painted on their bodies. I see players arm in arm in the Railer huddle, reflecting the critical team spirit that it will take to pull this off against a very good team from BHS.

In the sectional final I see a surprise match with No. 12 seed Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School after Bradley's upset of Normal Community High School the week before. I hear the Lady Railers remembering before the match that, even though LCHS beat BBCHS in their own tournament earlier this year, BBCHS was awarded first place through some stupid tiebreaker system.

I see what appear to be tears of joy in the eyes of the Lady Railers when they win over Moline in the supersectional, because they realize they are heading to Redbird Arena for the IHSA's version of the Big Dance. Before the match I hear the Railers remembering how shabbily they were treated at the Moline tournament this year and how losing to Moline at the BBCHS tournament cost them the tournament championship. I see the Railers handling the aggressive jump serving of Moline. I hear the sounds of the celebration when the Lincoln Fire and Police departments give the Railers a victory lap through the streets of Lincoln.

I will wait to once again look in my crystal (volley)ball in early November. I will then write Part 3 of this article if the Railers will prove me right by their excellent play.

GO, RAILERS!!

[Rick Hobler]

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