High School Girls Volleyball
Lady Railers punch their ticket to State

 

[November 05, 2023] 

The Lady Railers won the Class 3A Taylorville Super-Sectional on Friday night by defeating Mascoutah 25-11 and 25-18.

Lincoln is now headed to the Class 3A Volleyball State Finals at CEFCU Arena (Redbird Arena) in Normal on Friday, November 10, 2023 and on Saturday, November 11, 2023.

Lincoln had little to no trouble handling the 34-4 Mascoutah Indians in the Super-Sectional final Friday night. The Lady Railers entered the contest with an identical record to the Indians, but it was pretty clear early on that Lincoln’s game was just out of the southern Illinois school’s league. Lincoln has an insane amount of talent on this year’s team and the Lady Railers were quick to set the tone against the Indians.

Set one

Kloe Froebe was not about to be denied a trip to the state tournament her senior year and she was quick to get the Lady Railers in the scoring column with her tip that earned the first point of the game. Froebe then started the serving for Lincoln with an ace, as the student section behind her chanted, “Here we go, Lincoln, here we go!” Before long the Lady Railers boasted a 4-0 lead and that was just the start they needed. Peyton Sasse’s first kill of the set kept Lincoln on top, 5-2 the score. Another kill by Sasse and the lead was 6-2 with the Indians coach calling a timeout. The break in action failed to disrupt Lincoln and Sasse earned another kill on the return trip to the court. This time Sasse hit the corner nicely for a 7-2 lead. Sasse was by no means a one-woman show but she was swinging often and with consistency. Sasse then used a tip which was a perfect move at the time and the lead was 8-3. Following an Indians error in the net, Sasse and Rebecca Burge combined for the block and Lincoln kept adding points. Another sweet yet “in your face” kill by Sasse and the lead was 11-3. Now the Indians would regroup and come back a bit, trailing 12-6. But after the quickset to Burge resulted in her hitting the corner for a perfect kill, the score was 13-6 and another timeout was called by Mascoutah. Alyssa Company gets credit for the next kill, but kudos to Becca Heitzig for keeping the ball alive for Lincoln on her outstanding dig. After Makia Hassebrock hit the corner with her kill, the lead was 15-7 and Lincoln was definitely getting a solid effort from everyone on the court. The Lady Railers were also aided by a string of errors committed by the Indians and took advantage to lead 18-9. Of course another kill by Sasse did not hurt at this point and with her swing the score was 19-10. After the Indians hit the ball out to make the score 20-11, the first set was all but over. Mascoutah was called for a touch and it was all downhill from there. An error and then a block by Burge and Sasse just continued to shut them down. Sometimes the errors can be a domino effect and the Indians were definitely feeling it. Burge ended set one by perfectly placing a tip out of reach of the defenders and as it hit the court, Lincoln claimed the 25-11 victory.

Set two

Froebe’s kill put Lincoln up 2-1 quickly in set two. This time around the Indians took advantage of a couple errors by Lincoln early and they would claim leads of 6-4 and even 8-6 before the Lady Railers got down to business. After an ace by Heitzig and a block by Company, the set was tied 8-8 and Lincoln would begin to take over. With Heitzig serving, the team came back. Froebe and Company each notched kills and with Lincoln back on top 13-9, Mascoutah called a timeout. The return to the court featured a really long volley between the two teams and Froebe ended it with a monster kill down the line. Froebe had another kill from the middle that left the Indians defenseless and left Lincoln with a 15-10 lead. Sasse set the score at 17-12 after a sweet cross-court kill just landed inside the line. Mascoutah just could not get out of their own heads and into the game and the score escalated to 19-13. Froebe made the score 20-14 on another kill and again the Indians called a timeout. Mascoutah had a couple really good hitters that did earn kills near the end, but they just could not battle consistently against the Lincoln front row defense. Company and Sasse earned the final two kills for Lincoln to make the score 23-18. Mascoutah ended the set on a sour note for themselves. First, they were called for the touch and secondly, they just simply hit the ball out of bounds on game point. Sadly, for the Indians it was not even a hard hit ball. The ball just floated out of bounds by the Lady Railers bench and Peyton Sasse waited to watch it hit the ground before the celebration began. Lincoln claimed the victory in set two by a final score of 25-18.

There was plenty of celebrating on the court following the win with Railer Nation eventually making their way down from the bleachers above to join the players. Family and friends posed for lots of photos with the players and Coach Kaylee Lowery and her team fielded lots of questions from the media. The scene was something that was a long time coming for the volleyball program, as the last trip to the state tournament for the Lady Railers volleyball team was in 2000.

Coach Kaylee Lowery is familiar with the trip to State, having been to Redbird Arena as a player and an assistant coach for the Hartsburg-Emden Stags. Lowery and her team have had Redbird Arena on their radar since the start of the season.

“There is truly nothing like going to State,” said Lowery. “The excitement and the experience is amazing. I have experienced State both as a player and as an assistant, but now I get to experience it as a head coach and I couldn’t be more excited to experience it with these girls and this team. Their drive, character, and the love they have for volleyball and winning is what makes my job worth doing. It is going to be such a fun and busy week. The community has shown such support and the girls appreciate it so much. We knew from the beginning of the season what our goal was. I sat them down at our first official practice and stated the exact goal. They were all on board and bought into everything we’ve done in preparation to get here. We knew that U-High was going to be a huge game come postseason. There was a bit of a turning point after that regular season loss (to U-High) and we knew that we had to really dig deep and put in some extra work to prepare and win that rematch. Since the post season has started, we haven’t been given much time to prepare for games. This time we get four days to prepare, but so does the other team. Redbird Arena can be intimidating, and lucky for us some of them have been there and played, so they will be more comfortable going into Friday.”

Lowery is alluding to the members of the volleyball team who played on the Lady Railers 2nd place basketball team at Redbird Arena back in March. This time around the ball is different but the winning mentality is there and it’s Lowery’s job to keep the team on the right track. With a 35-4 record so far, the team definitely looks to add on a couple more wins.

“I think the biggest thing we are going to focus on is what we do on our side of the net,” added Lowery. “We’ve got the right tools to reach our goal. We need to stay focused and ready to put in more work because we aren’t finished yet. We hope to see a huge crowd at ISU on Friday. Go Railers!”

Lowery has a talented group of student-athletes who thrive on hard-work and dedication to their sport. They love the thrill of competition and they work together very well as a team. They also enjoy hoisting trophies and championship plaques and posing promptly for team pictures afterwards, with Lynn Paulus barely needing to direct them anymore. They’ve become pros at lining up.

Following the game Friday night, seniors Kloe Froebe and Taryn Stoltzenburg were all smiles as another trip to Redbird Arena was in their future. The two friends just made history on Doug Collins Court back in March playing basketball for the Lady Railers.

“It’s just such a surreal feeling,” began Froebe, who was second on the team this season with 302 kills. “On the way here I was looking at pictures of past volleyball games from when we were younger and I was thinking let’s just go out and do it for them. This is what they were looking forward to, working hard for and let’s just go do it for them. Let’s leave it all on the court.”

Froebe mentioned winning a state volleyball title as a seventh grader at West Lincoln Broadwell, but then her eighth grade year saw the season cut short due to Covid. The WLB team was actually supposed to play Hartsburg-Emden in the sectional tournament that year.

Taryn Stoltzenburg, who has tallied 267 digs this season, will be going to State in volleyball for the first time in her career. Stoltzenburg played volleyball at Lincoln Junior High School.

“It means a lot,” said Stoltzenburg, of this opportunity. “At the junior high we never really had a lot of success in volleyball and I knew that high school would be different. Just playing with this team I knew we had a lot of potential.”

Becca Heitzig, when asked if she thought she’d be in this position on this night, answered, “I did not. But you know, God gave us another chance to play together and I am just going to embrace it. It’s just amazing because we get to play together again. I tell God everyday thank you for letting us play together because I just love my teammates.”

Heitzig, hails from the WLB volleyball program and she leads the Lady Railers with 392 digs this season. Heitzig said her and her teammates push each other and hold each other to high standards. Heitzig was eager to celebrate quickly with her team Friday night but she was also eager to get home and rest. Heitzig had to be at Detweiller Park in Peoria on Saturday morning to run in the 2023 IHSA Class 2A State XC Championships. (Spoiler alert: SHE WON!)

Alyssa Company, a senior who leads the team with 62 blocks, was overcome with emotion following the Super-Sectional win. For Company, who just started playing volleyball in eighth grade at Chester East-Lincoln, this will be her first trip to State.

“I don’t think this moment feels real yet,” Company said. “I started crying, realizing that this is actually happening. I think it’ll hit more as I realize we gotta train for State this week. And it’ll hit even more when we actually show up to Redbird Arena. I am super-stoked. I am just taking it all for the moment. I am sure I won’t go to bed tonight.”

When asked about what makes this 2023 team special, Company said, “I think it’s just the way we get along. We all understand each other. We communicate well. We have fun in practice and we all know how to pick somebody up when they are down.”

Company previously did competitive dancing but admitted that she watched her mom, Candace, coach volleyball ever since coming out of the womb.

“She told me that I have the height for it and after I stopped dancing competitively I decided that I should give it a try and I fell in love with it,” said Company. The “newby” compared to her teammates, is third on the team with 206 kills so far this season.

Addy Qualters was a volleyball teammate of Taryn Stoltzenburg’s at Lincoln Junior High and this will also be her first time at State. Qualters has played club volleyball since the age of 12 and her hard work has really paid off. On Sunday, she was named to the Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association 2023 3A Girls All-State second team as a setter. Qualters has 927 assists this season and she has eclipsed 1,500 assists in her two-year stint as a setter.

Qualters has been a huge part of the Lady Railers success this season and while the upcoming trip to State has not set in yet, she said, “It means everything to us. We have put in so many hours in practice to come this far. Coach Kaylee pushes us to be the best we can be, and I believe we would not be here without her.

Qualters has really been impressive running the floor for the Lady Railers this season and she acknowledged “being a setter can definitely be challenging but I have strong connections with my teammates which makes my job easier.”

As far as the upcoming weekend, Qualters said, “I anticipate a lot of great feelings next weekend, seeing all this come together for the goal we set in the beginning of the season.”

When asked what makes this team special, Qualters said, “At the end of the day we work hard, we support each other and we all have the same goal. The heart of the team comes from the support and trust between our teammates and it has been building for many years. We all stand on that together.”

Peyton Sasse, a junior on the team who leads Lincoln hitters with 370 kills, comes from Chester East-Lincoln and she has been a dominant driving force for the Lady Railers on the court all season. Sasse was just named to the Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association 2023 3A Girls All-State first team as an outside hitter.

“I am just so happy and thankful for the team I’m a part of,” said Sasse. “I couldn’t have asked for a better season. It has been nothing but an exciting journey. Our team has a different kind of trust that I don’t think a lot of teams have. I’m super excited heading into this week. I’ve never had any State experience so this is all new for me. But I wouldn’t want to be heading into this week with a different team. I’m with plenty of girls who know what it’s like to be in this situation. I’m feeling very confident in our team and our ability. I just keep reminding myself that if we made it this far, we can go all the way. We just need to trust each other and stay focused, then everything else should just fall into place.”

Junior Rebecca Burge, who has 41 blocks so far this season, has been to State once before with her volleyball team at West Lincoln Broadwell and she called that experience amazing. In just four more sleeps she will be on the court at Redbird Arena, seeing one goal achieved and setting her sights on another.

“It honestly just doesn’t feel real,” said Burge. “Some of the girls got together to hang out and we just kept saying, “We’re going to State, like actually going to State.” We’ve all been working for this since July when we started summer ball and it was pretty much our main goal to make it to Redbird Arena. We’re all super ready to get into the gym and prepare for what’s to come and win.”

Makia Hassebrock played junior high volleyball at Chester East-Lincoln and went to state in volleyball her eighth grade year. The Panthers got 4th place that year. Hassebrock has found success coming in off the bench and she has surprised a lot of teams with her swing.

“I am very excited for the state tournament and can’t wait to put in the work,” said Hassebrock. “Our 2023 Railers volleyball team is very special because all of us are hardworking and very focused on what we want to achieve. This upcoming weekend we need to have a good mindset and focus on the things we have been doing in practice. We also need to stay focused on what our goal has been all season, winning State.”

Sounds like the Lady Railers are ready to get to work and take that road to Redbird Arena on Friday.

The real question is: Is Redbird Arena ready for Lincoln fans to take over again?!

Lincoln will play Chicago St. Ignatius College Prep on Friday, November 10, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. at Redbird Arena in Normal.

Wheaton St. Francis will play Morton following the Lady Railers match.

The winners will meet on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. for the state championship.

Stats versus Mascoutah

Sasse 10 kills 7 digs 1 block
Froebe 7 kills 11 digs
Company 5 kills 2 assists 1 block
Qualters 26 assists 5 digs
Heitzig 12 digs
Burge 4 kills 2 blocks 1 dig
Stoltzenburg 7 digs
Hassebrock 2 kills

[Teena Lowery]