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 The match was oddly similar to the first meeting between the two
teams as Lincoln took the first two sets in exciting fashion.
After a slow start in set one, the Lady Lynx stormed back from a
six-point deficit to tie the score at 23-23 then battled their way
to a 29-27 win with the set-point coming on an ace serve from
freshman outside hitter Kaylyn Hoffert.
In set two, Lincoln and ICC traded leads early on and eventually saw
a tie score at 18-18. That's when a side out on a kill down the line
by Mattie Giese put sophomore Brighton Robbins behind the service
line. Robbins would serve five straight to put Lincoln up for good
and eventually take the set 25-20.
Lincoln was unable to sustain their high level of play in set three
and fell behind early 10-3. ICC stepped up their game defensively by
blocking LC hitters several times for quick scores. ICC would win
set two 25-20.
 Set four again saw ICC get off to a fast start and control the net
to build a big lead. Lincoln would make a late charge behind the
strong serve of freshman middle Cassidy Sanneman who served five in
a row to narrow the gap, but the team came up just short and lost
the set 25-23.
The air was clearly out of the Lady Lynx's sails in set five as they
trailed all the way in a 15-8 loss.
ICC will move on to the Region Final Four to face Lincoln Land CC on
Saturday at 4 p.m.
Stat Totals
Kenzie Cooper 17 kills, 8 points, 14 digs
Kaylyn Hoffert 8 kills, 3 blocks
Abbi Buelow 6 points, 29 set assists, 10 digs
Erin Rankin 15 points, 12 digs
Mattie Giese 6 kills, 3 blocks
Melanie Murray 19 digs, 5 points
Cassidy Sanneman 4 kills, 5 blocks, 7 points
Mikayla Siebert 3 kills
Elysa Smith 2 kills, 2 blocks
Brighton Robbins 11 digs, 6 points
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LC Coach Mark Tippett: "In our Region, there has never been an upset
in the #6 seed verses #3 seed playoff match-up, but tonight was as
close as I've seen it to happening. It's too bad we couldn't put
together one more strong set to win the match.
"We started out very flat in set one, but showed a lot of heart and
belief in ourselves to battle back and win that set. Set two was one
of our best efforts of the season. We were aggressive and made smart
decisions throughout. I can't point to any one reason why we fell
off the way we did after that.
'ICC really stepped up their game in sets three and four. Their
block was very effective which led to a lot of frustration for our
hitters. We just did not get off to good starts in any of the final
three sets which is not something you can afford to do against a
strong team.
'It's a disappointing way to end out season, but I am proud of what
this team accomplished this year. We posted a strong record (22-13)
and did it with very few players who came in with any college
playing experience. We will return the majority of our team next
year, so the future should be very bright for our program."
Lincoln will compete at the NJCAA DII level for one more season
before transitioning to four-year athletics as an NAIA program in
2018.
[Coach Mark Tippett]
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