High School Girls Volleyball
Lady Railers earn third place in the Hampton Inn Varsity Volleyball Tournament
Normal West wins the tournament for the second year in a row

 

[September 11, 2023] 

The Lady Railers finished in third place on Saturday in the 2023 Hampton Inn Varsity Volleyball Tournament. The highly-competitive tournament featured 12 teams from across the state of Illinois. After seeing the impressive level of talent on display at Lincoln Community High School, spectators were saying this was a preview of some of the teams that will be making a run to State in November.

Normal West was a repeat champion of the tournament. The Wildcats defeated Quincy Notre Dame 25-21 and 25-17 for the championship on Saturday afternoon.

The Lady Railers finished the tournament with a 4-1 record. After getting the first three wins in the tournament, Lincoln entered the Gold Bracket, where they finished in third place.

Friday night

Lincoln vs. Deer Creek-Mackinaw

To recap the first game on Friday night, Lincoln defeated

Deer Creek-Mackinaw 25-15 and 25-18. Kloe Froebe led the Lady Railers with 12 kills.

In set one, Lincoln led consistently by a five-point margin early on. The ladies pulled away near the end of the set, going on a 5-0 run to increase the lead to 24-14. Alyssa Company was an important part of that run with a kill, a tip and then coming up with a huge block with Lily Holmes. Kloe Froebe added two monster kills to really seal the deal and then it was Company and Holmes again on the block to slam the door on Deer Creek-Mackinaw. Lincoln won set one 25-15.

In set two with Dee-Mack, the Lady Railers jumped out to a 7-2 lead thanks to kills and tips each by Sasse and Company and an ace served by Heitzig. Sasse and Company combined for the block that completed the 6-0 run on the Chiefs. After a tip and then a kill by Froebe, the Lady Railers were up 10-4. A kill by Lily Holmes put Lincoln up 11-5. After back-to-back kills by Sasse and Froebe, Lincoln was leading 17-12. Holmes, Froebe and Sasse contributed kills down the stretch to increase the lead to 23-17. Sasse’s last kill of the match made the score 24-18 and game point was pretty thrilling.

It’s hard to pick a highlight from the last play that earned the Lady Railers game point because each of the three players that touched the ball were sensational. After a pretty long volley between the Lady Railers and the Chiefs, Froebe hit the ball into the block and Becca Heitzig made a sensational save to dig the ball high enough for Froebe to make a perfect back set towards the setter, Addy Qualters. Qualters turned it into a game-ending kill. So in a turn of events, credit Froebe with the assist and Qualters with the kill. Nice way to end the second set and pick up a win. 25-18 was the final score of set two.

Lincoln vs. Mahomet-Seymour

In the next highly-anticipated matchup of the evening, the Lady Railers and their fans packed the back gym at LCHS for the game versus the Mahomet-Seymour Bulldogs.

The games between these two ranked teams were spectacular. According to MaxPreps, Lincoln came into the match ranked no. 2 and Mahomet-Seymour was ranked no. 3 in the state. The action was intense and the scores were as close as possible in the first two sets. Lincoln won the first set 27-25 while Mahomet-Seymour took the second set 26-24. Lincoln would win the third set 15-11. Peyton Sasse led Lincoln with 12 kills.

In set one, Lincoln was quick to earn a 5-0 lead over the Bulldogs with Rebecca Burge sneaking a couple tips over and Sasse earning a kill. The lead was 10-4 after Company was coming up clutch early on. She helped her team earn points by way of a kill, a tip and a block. There is nothing she can’t do in that front row. Sasse and Qualters also combined on a monster block to add another point in Lincoln’s favor. After a long volley, Sasse hit the sideline perfectly for a kill and this kept Lincoln in front 11-8. With the Bulldogs charging closer, Company’s two kills kept them on a short leash, 13-10 the score. In fact, the Bulldogs fought back to tie the set 13-13. An enormous kill from Froebe gave Lincoln a 14-13 lead. Sasse’s kill put Lincoln up 15-14 and fans were getting their money’s worth. Taryn Stoltzenburg served an ace to keep Lincoln in the lead, 16-14 the score. Scores of 18-17 and 20-19 would keep fans on the edge of their seats. After taking a 24-21 lead on a kill by Sasse, the Bulldogs would bring the Lady Railers to their knees and tie things up 24-24. Coach Lowery called a timeout and following the timeout, the Bulldogs took over the lead. Coach Lowery called another timeout. The next volley ended in Lincoln’s favor after Sasse carefully tipped the ball over the net, finding a hole. Here we go again, 25-25 the score. Lincoln got the next point as the middle hitter for the Bulldogs, who looked to be about 6’2 or better, hit the ball into the net as Company was leaping in front of her. Game point would go to Lincoln on a play that upset the Bulldogs. Qualters went up against the net versus the Bulldogs player who hit the ball out of bounds. The Bulldogs thought Qualters got a hand on it, but the referee who was on the stand closest to the play called the ball out on the Bulldogs and that caused a bit of a controversy. Once the referee signaled game point to Lincoln, the Lady Railers left the court while the Bulldogs continued to plead their case. The call remained and Lincoln took set one 27-25.

In set two it was Mahomet-Seymour taking a 6-0 lead over Lincoln. The Lady Railers had a tough battle on their hands and even after some impressive kills from Sasse, they still trailed 8-3 to the Bulldogs. But leave it to these girls and their winning mentality. Lincoln came back from that five-point deficit to take a 10-8 lead. The Lady Railers just kept playing their hearts out and before long it was a 16-9 lead. And then after a huge kill at just the right moment by Makia Hassebrock the Lincoln lead was 20-16. But the Bulldogs were not down and out and after a kill that knocked Froebe off her feet, the Bulldogs were on a mission. They would fight back to tie the set 22-22. Sasse’s kill earned Lincoln a 23-22 lead and after the Bulldogs couldn’t handle Company’s hit, Lincoln was ready for game point with the score 24-22. The Bulldogs had other plans. They used a kill to score one point and then they took advantage of three Lincoln errors to score the rest of the points needed to steal a 26-24 win over the Lady Railers in set two.

The winner of set three needed to be the first to reach a score of 15 and with both teams ready for a battle, the tension in the back gym was building. First it was Mahomet-Seymour with a 5-3 lead and Lincoln had to fight hard to tie the game 5-5. Once Company gave the Lady Railers the lead on a kill, the team pulled things together and built up a 9-5 lead. The all too familiar lead change between these two teams prompted Grandpa Keith (Johnson) to say, “This has been a game of momentum,” and he was right. Luckily as he said this, Lincoln would keep the momentum and with Froebe determined to not let this one slip by, the Lady Railers stayed on top. First, Froebe had a huge kill that just landed inbounds for a point. It was the kind of hit that makes everyone around say, “Wow!” Her hit made the score 11-7. Then Froebe had an unbelievable kill to make the score 12-9. Finally, it was Sasse with the big kill to make a statement and give Lincoln a 13-9 lead. Next it was Rebecca Burge on the block and Lincoln was looking good with a 14-9 lead. The Bulldogs scored twice more before Froebe passed the ball perfectly to Qualters and this time she placed a perfect back set to Holmes on the right side and she killed the ball right past the block. After an hour and ten minutes of outstanding and intense volleyball action, Lincoln takes set three 15-11. That concluded Friday night Lady Railer volleyball action.

Peyton Sasse led the team with 12 kills against Mahomet-Seymour. Alyssa Company added 10 kills and Kloe Froebe had 9 kills and 9 digs. Becca Heitzig had 22 digs and Addy Qualters had a season-high 32 assists and contributed 10 digs.

Saturday

Lincoln vs. Peoria Notre Dame

Lincoln defeated Peoria Notre Dame in two quick sets on Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. The Lady Railers won 25-18 and 25-17. This advanced Lincoln to the Gold Bracket level of competition at 11:30 a.m.

Peyton Sasse led Lincoln with 9 kills and Alyssa Company added 8 kills against Peoria Notre Dame.

Lincoln vs. Quincy Notre Dame

Lincoln would suffer their only loss in the tournament to an undefeated Quincy Notre Dame team. The scores were 20-25, 25-23 and 11-15. The Lady Railers really put up a great fight against this team and came back from a 20-23 deficit to win set two 25-23. But with the score tied 11-11 in set three, Quincy Notre Dame took the lead for good and won by a final score of 15-11.

Kloe Froebe had a season-high 15 kills versus Quincy Notre Dame and Peyton Sasse added 14 kills. Addy Qualters had 30 assists.

Lincoln vs. O’Fallon

The third place game featured Lincoln versus O’Fallon and the Lady Railers came out on top in this one, winning 25-22 and 25-20.

Set one was close nearly the entire game. After a 4-4 tie the Lady Railers fell behind 6-8. Froebe served the Lady Railers back to a lead, finishing the run with an ace good for a 10-8 Lincoln lead. After a couple more ties, the Lady Railers took a 15-13 lead. A kill by Company kept Lincoln on top 17-15. O’Fallon tied Lincoln once again, this time 18-18. Sasse’s kill gave the Lady Railers a slim advantage and then it was Burge with the kill to pad the lead 20-18. After an ace by Kendal Long, Lincoln held a 22-19 lead. Sasse added two more kills in the final minutes and her last kill down the line allowed Lincoln to win set one 25-22.

With Froebe at the service line to start set two, she would make herself comfortable and rattle off eight straight points, beginning with an ace. Burge and Sasse added kills in all the excitement as the lead mounted to 8-0 pretty quickly. Sasse was swinging fast and frequently in set two and she earned two more kills to make the score 10-4. Company was also tallying kills and she guided Lincoln out to a 15-6 lead. O’Fallon made a little run to catch up and 17-11 was the score soon flashing on the scoreboard. Lincoln managed to keep the Panthers far enough away and after Sasse’s kill down the line, the Lady Railers were enjoying a 22-14 lead. With the score 24-15, the Panthers went on another run. This time the lead dwindled a bit too close for comfort as O’Fallon enjoyed a 5-0 run. With the score 24-20, O’Fallon committed a hitting error and Lincoln was able to claim the second set with a 25-20 win.

Peyton Sasse led the team with 14 kills versus O’Fallon.

Lincoln Head Coach Kaylee Lowery was happy with the team’s success in the tournament and is already looking ahead to what the team needs to work on.

“The high level of play and the competitive teams made it a great weekend,” said Lowery. “We went 4-1. One of the best games of the tournament was our game against Mahomet Seymour. They were ranked #3 and we were ranked #2 in 3A on MaxPreps going into the weekend. It ended up being a three-set thriller. It made me excited as a coach to see us play at the highest level, with the most enthusiasm, and giving the most effort than I’ve seen all season. Against Mahomet-Seymour, Peyton Sasse led with 12 kills and 4 digs, followed by Alyssa Company with 10 kills. Becca Heitzig also had 22 digs. It was a great way to end Friday night. We ended up losing to Quincy Notre Dame, who was a great team on Saturday. Kloe Froebe had an impressive game with 15 kills and 2 digs and Taryn Stoltzenburg did a great job commanding the back row while getting 15 digs. Overall, it was a great weekend and we got to play tough competition that we wouldn’t get to in regular season games. I saw some great things that I’m really excited about as well as what we need to work on. We’ll get back to work this week. We have Chatham on Tuesday, Springfield on Thursday, and the Mount Pulaski Fall Fest Tournament Saturday.”

Lincoln’s record is now 13-2 on the season.

A few more notes:

Congratulations to Peyton Sasse for being named to the all-tournament team. Sasse had a spectacular tournament with 58 kills, 19 digs and 4 blocks.

It should also be noted that Kloe Froebe had a sensational tournament with 45 kills, 28 digs, 3 blocks and 1 assist, which was amazing.

Alyssa Company also had an impressive tournament with 35 kills, 13 blocks, 4 digs and 3 assists.

Add Addy Qualters to the list of outstanding players in the tournament too. Qualters finished with 134 assists, 27 digs, 4 blocks and 3 kills.

The total team effort by the Lady Railers in the tournament was top-notch and the excitement they bring to the court is incredible. Speed, athleticism and that winning mentality will continue to take them a long way.

This week’s schedule:

Tuesday at Chatham-Glenwood

Freshman @ 5:00 p.m.
JV at 6:00 p.m.
Varsity at 7:00 p.m

Thursday home versus Springfield

Freshman @ 5:00 p.m.
JV at 6:00 p.m.
Varsity at 7:00 p.m

Saturday at the Mount Pulaski Fall Festival Tournament time TBD

Stats versus Deer Creek-Mackinaw

Kloe Froebe 12 kills 2 digs 1 assist
Peyton Sasse 9 kills 4 digs 1 block
Alyssa Company 9 kills 2 blocks
Rebecca Burge 2 kills
Taryn Stoltzenburg 12 digs
Addy Qualters 27 assists 4 digs 1 kill
Becca Heitzig 15 digs 4 assists
Lily Holmes 2 kills 2 digs

Stats versus Mahomet-Seymour

Peyton Sasse 12 kills 4 digs 1 block
Alyssa Company 10 kills 4 digs 3 blocks
Kloe Froebe 9 kills 9 digs 1 block
Becca Heitzig 22 digs 1 assist 1 kill
Rebecca Burge 2 kills 2 digs 1 block
Taryn Stoltzenburg 13 digs
Addy Qualters 32 assists 10 digs 2 kills
Lily Holmes 1 kill 1 dig 1 block
Makia Hassebrock 1 kill

Stats versus Peoria Notre Dame

Peyton Sasse 9 kills 1 block
Alyssa Company 8 kills 4 blocks 2 assists
Kloe Froebe 4 kills 8 digs 1 block
Rebecca Burge 4 kills 1 block
Lily Holmes 2 kills 10 digs
Taryn Stoltzenburg 8 digs
Addy Qualters 24 assists 3 digs 2 blocks

Stats versus Quincy Notre Dame

Kloe Froebe 15 kills 2 digs 1 block
Peyton Sasse 14 kills 5 digs 1 block
Addy Qualters 30 assists 2 blocks 1 dig
Alyssa Company 3 kills 3 blocks 1 assist
Rebecca Burge 3 blocks
Lily Holmes 1 kill 3 digs
Taryn Stoltzenburg 15 digs 1 assist

Stats versus O’Fallon

Peyton Sasse 14 kills 6 digs
Alyssa Company 5 kills 1 block
Kloe Froebe 5 kills 7 digs
Addy Qualters 21 assists 9 digs
Taryn Stoltzenburg 7 digs 2 assists
Rebecca Burge 2 kills 1 block
Kendal Long 1 dig

2023 Hampton Inn Varsity Volleyball Tournament All-Tournament Team

Emma Hoing ~ Quincy Notre Dame
Ellie Barker ~ Mahomet-Seymour
Sydnie Hernandez ~ Normal West
Ellie Rink ~ Normal West
Avery Allen ~ Mahomet-Seymour
Alexis Naumann ~ Chatham Glenwood
Annie Eaton ~ Quincy Notre Dame
Mia Lamberti ~ Bartonville - Limestone
Peyton Sasse ~ Lincoln
Avery Feltes ~ Normal West
Cecelia Venne ~ O’Fallon
Reanne Cupples ~ Normal West

Teams competing in the Hampton Inn Tournament:

Normal West
Quincy Notre Dame
Lincoln
O’Fallon
Deer Creek-Mackinaw
Peoria Notre Dame
Mahomet-Seymour
Springfield
Danville
Chatham-Glenwood
Bartonville-Limestone
Decatur St. Teresa

[Teena Lowery]