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And as Dorothy is famous for saying on her return from the Land of
Oz: "There's no place like home." Watching the Lincoln Lady
Railers play last night, one would have to say that this year's team
has truly and finally come home. Hopefully, they have come home to
stay.
The Lincoln Lady Railers volleyball squad (13-4-2 overall and 2-0
in conference) came back home to Roy S. Anderson gymnasium Tuesday
night after successful tournament play and an extended road
schedule. Lincoln High School buses have traveled to East Peoria,
Mount Zion, Taylorville and Quincy in the last 10 days, and on each
occasion the Lady Railers have come home happy. Once you prove you
can win on the road against tough opponents, then home is even
sweeter. Especially sweet when the home win comes against conference
rival Chatham Glenwood. The Railers pummeled the Titans by scores of
25-19, 25-14.
There was really only one problem for the Lady Railers on Tuesday
night -- her name was Hannah Werth. But "one" is definitely the
loneliest number in volleyball, and the Lady Railer "many" made
short work of the Chatham one.
In game one Lincoln got off to a slow start, but once they began
to roll, they really rolled. The initial Railer roll began with some
consistent serving from Molly Goodrich and what was to be the
beginning of an awesome night of hitting for Jamie McFadden. Two
service aces and two monster kills finally put Lincoln in the lead
7-5. Some all-around team play and a few more McFadden kills put the
Railers securely in the lead at 20-13. The Railers hurt themselves
over the next series of volleys and allowed Chatham to crawl back
into the game as a Hannah Werth ace brought the Titans to within two
points at 21-19. Senior leadership then showed up for the Railers. A
kill, a tip into an open court area and a block, all by Natalie
Boward, along with an impressive Katie Conklen dig, gave the Railers
the win at 25-19.
The second game was even more one-sided, as five of the Titans
seemed to concede the match almost from the start -- everyone except
for Ms. Werth, of course. Once again Lincoln's McFadden was pounding
the unreturnable ball into the gymnasium floor, for six additional
kills. Abbie Feldman added a couple of nice kills, and the serving
of Amy Ramlow and Molly Goodrich carried the Railers home to
victory. A McFadden soft tip that landed on the Titan's court
untouched brought the match to an end at 25-14.
The entire Railer team played well. Especially awesome were Jamie
McFadden with 12 kills and Katie Conklen with 12 digs. Jamie
delivered some of the hardest hits of the season while Katie
took some of the hardest hits of the season. Both were crucial
to the Railer victory. The Railers served exceptionally well for one
of the first times this season. Molly Goodrich had 11 service
points, including five aces. Amy Ramlow was close behind with nine
service points. Most everything the Railers tried, worked. The
Railers were impressive in almost every aspect of their match. Maybe
the most impressive was the statistics Chatham's Hannah Werth did
NOT have -- just three kills for the entire match.
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I hope the Lady Railers enjoyed the victory last night, because
homecoming week is only half over. To say this week is crucial to
the Central State Eight volleyball championship would definitely be
an understatement. Having taken care of Chatham, Lincoln now heads
to the generally unfriendly confines of Griffin High School to play
the ladies from SHG. It would be naïve to think that LCHS will get
fair shake on the court ruled by SHG coach Helen Dulle. If the past
is any indication of the future at SHG, Lincoln should be ready to
play against eight instead of six.
We will see if the Lady Railers are up to the task. We'll see if
LCHS students are there to support their fellow classmates during
homecoming week. We'll see… if the team plays like it did on Tuesday
night. It's certainly early, but if they do, they should ride home
Thursday night firmly in charge of their own destiny in the CS8.
It's up to you, ladies.
GO, RAILERS!
* * *
Lincoln JV plays well in loss
The junior Railers are close but are not there yet. The younger
Railers are playing well enough to be close but continue to make too
many errors to win. Last night, all games of their three-game match
were decided by scores of 25-20. Unfortunately for LCHS, Chatham had
the 25 points twice and the Railers had it only once. This year's
team has several players struggling in significant aspects of their
game, while other players are playing strong. It is yet to be seen
if this year's sophomore class (who lost only three matches last
year as freshmen), along with the new freshmen players, can put this
squad in the winning column again.
Hilary Hobler led the team in two categories, with nine kills and
seven service points. Amy Kelley and Hannah Sheley added eight
service points each. Amy Kelley and Kayla Riggs shared the setting
responsibilities, garnering 10 and six assists, respectively. Emily
Sheley had some positive plays at the net, with five kills and two
blocks. Laura Aughenbaugh played well all night at the center of the
net.
The Lincoln JV moves on to a tough match at SHG on Thursday.
GO, RAILERS!
[Rick
Hobler]
Respond to the writer at
rhobler@lccs.edu.
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