LC Women’s Volleyball stays hot

[September 15, 2017]   The Lincoln College Women’s Volleyball team ran their winning streak to four in a row Wednesday evening by picking up an important Region win over the Lewis & Clark College Trailblazers.

The four-set victory improved the team’s record to 10-4 overall and 3-1 in Region 24 play.

Originally, the match was scheduled to be played at Lewis & Clark, but their gym was under repair, so the match was moved to Lincoln where a large crowd was on hand to cheer LC on to victory.

The Lady Lynx did not get off to a strong start in the match as they dropped set one 27-25. Lincoln struggled on defense in the early going which contributed to the team facing a three to five point deficit most of the way. LC avoided a Lewis set point opportunity at 24-20 with a kill down the line by sophomore left side hitter Kaylyn Hoffert (Lincoln). Fellow sophomore Cassidy Sanneman (Henry) then followed up with three service points to tie the score at 24-24. However, the comeback attempt would fall short, because after trading side outs, a Trailblazer kill off the block and an LC hitting error gave set one to Lewis & Clark.

LC Coach Mark Tippett was optimistic about his team’s chances despite the slow start. “We did not block well in the first set which was disappointing, but something that I was confident we could improve on,” said Tippett. “Once we stopped letting them hit off our block and started directing their attack or stopping it at the net, it put us in a much better position to compete.”

The turnaround began for Lincoln midway through the second set when, with LC trailing 11-9, freshman Maddie Malinowski (Bloomington) stepped behind the service line. Malinowski’s deep float serve kept the Trailblazers off balance and sparked an 8-0 Lincoln scoring run. During the hot streak, Malinowski recorded three aces to help put her team ahead for good. The Lady Lynx would go on to take the set 25-20.

In set three, the combination of setter Abbi Buelow (Rockford) and right side hitter Mattie Giese (Highland Park) was huge for LC as the duo combined for five kills in the set. After trading side outs up to an 8-8 tie, Lincoln finally broke through on a Buelow to Giese cross court kill and a Lewis hitting error to gain a 10-8 advantage. Lincoln then maintained a two to three point lead for the rest of the set and won it 25-21.

“Maddie’s serving run in the second set gave us a confidence boost which was definitely needed after dropping the first set,” said Coach Tippett. “Mattie Giese had to fight through some early match struggles, but once she got on track, she showed just how effective a hitter she can be. I was impressed by how she hung in there.”

Shots from the match:

LC rode the momentum gained from the set three win to lead the whole way in set four and end the match with a 25-18 victory. Malinowski would finish with a team high ten service points (five aces) and she also led the team in kills with 19. Plenty of other hitters got in on the action for Lincoln, including eleven kills by Kaylyn Hoffert, ten for Mattie Giese, and eight apiece for Elysa Smith and Mikayla Siebert (Mackinaw). Middle hitter Cassidy Sanneman finished with three kills and two blocks. Setting the table for all those kills were sophomores Abbi Buelow and Jenna Weller (Salt Fork). Buelow recorded 24 set assists and Weller was just behind her with 23.
The Lincoln defense was anchored by libero Megan Gilliam (Waterloo) who turned in a team high 15 digs and was second on the team in points scored with six.

Coach Tippett was pleased by his team’s effort. “I was impressed with the way we responded after dropping set one. We didn’t get too down on ourselves and just dug a little deeper to raise our level of play,” he said. “This win is an important one for us in terms of post-season seeding. We are usually in the hunt for a home match in the first round with Lewis & Clark, so to have the advantage over them in terms of Region record could be significant for us later in the year,” he added.

LC is off until next Wednesday evening when they will host the nationally ranked Lincoln Land Loggers (#7) at 6:00 PM.

[Mark Tippett
Lincoln College
Sports Information]