Lynx Women's Volleyball defeats Knox to win home finale

[October 25, 2018] 

The Lincoln College Women’s Volleyball team went out in style in their last home match of the 2018 season by downing the visiting Knox College Prairie Fire in straight sets.

The win lifts LC’s record at home on the year to 9-2 and improves the team’s overall record to 16-13 with six matches left to play.

The evening began with a new look for the Lady Lynx as they played their first match without offensive leader and team captain, Kaylyn Hoffert. Hoffert, a junior outside hitter from Lincoln, Illinois, will be out of the lineup the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.

“The decision to sit Kaylyn for the remainder of the season was a tough one, but needed to be done in order to begin the process of getting her healthy and ready for next season,” said Lincoln head coach Mark Tippett. “We are all hopeful she can come back as strong as ever for her senior year.”

Hoffert’s absence required a shuffling of Lincoln’s lineup which included the moving of right side hitter Hannah Cameron (Lincoln) to left side and defensive specialist Melanie Murray (Chicago) to play back row for Cameron.

In set one, the revamped lineup came through with a close win over Knox. LC held on to a slim one-to-two-point lead for most of the set and eventually claimed a 25-23 win. The final point came on a strong kill by outside hitter Mikayla Seibert (Mackinaw) off of a set assist from junior setter Emma Derry (Augustana).

In set two, the Prairie Fire and Lady Lynx battled back and forth in the early going to a 6-6 tie. At that point, setter Emma Derry went behind the service line and served six points in row to put the Lady Lynx up 12-6. Three of Derry’s points during the run were the result of ace serves. Lincoln went on to open up an 11-point lead and eventually cruise to a 25-16 win.

LC setter Emma Dery's six point run of serves in set two put Lincoln up for good.

Knox responded in set three with a strong effort to keep Lincoln from building much of a lead. The two teams traded side outs and one-point leads up to a 10-10 tie. The tie was broken when LC freshman setter Morgan Lolling (Lincoln) found middle hitter Elysa Smith (Metamora) for a kill. Lolling then connected with Mikayla Seibert for another kill before going back to Smith for yet another kill to put Lincoln up 13-10. The Lady Lynx would not trail again on their way to a 25-18 set three win which ended the match.

Right side hitter Mattie Giese (Highland Park) led the offensive effort for Lincoln with ten kills. Middle hitter Elysa Smith recorded seven kills in the match, and left side Hannah Cameron added six kills. Emma Derry tallied a team-high 21 set assists and defensive specialist Faith McGinnes (Mackinaw) led all backcourt players with 20 digs.

Coach Tippett was satisfied with the way his team rose to the challenge of playing without their team captain. “Our players did a nice job of adjusting to a new lineup and showed off how versatile we can be,” said Tippett. “We had multiple players playing in different positions and unfamiliar rotations, but we kept our quality of play at a high level. I credit our upperclassmen for keeping things positive and helping those playing in new spots to feel comfortable and supported.”

Lincoln will travel across town on Thursday evening to take on Lincoln Christian University at 7:00 PM.

[Mark Tippett
Lincoln College
Sports Information]