High School Girls Volleyball
Lady Railers win in three sets over Chatham-Glenwood
 

[September 13, 2023] 

The Lady Railers defeated Chatham-Glenwood Tuesday night in Central State Eight volleyball action, improving their record to 5-0 in the conference.

The Lady Railers Varsity won 25-15, 18-25 and 25-16.

On a night when Taylor Swift was racking up the awards at the VMA’s in New Jersey, the Lady Railers were tallying some pretty impressive stats versus the Titans in Chatham. Peyton Sasse led the team with 15 kills and she also had 10 digs. Kloe Froebe’s killer instinct on the court was on full display and she had 14 kills and 17 digs. Addy Qualters was spot on with her sets and she notched a season-high 37 assists. Becca Heitzig was a machine in the back row, digging up 26 hard-hit balls. Alyssa Company continues to impress with leadership and consistency on the court and she tallied 9 kills. Taryn Stoltzenburg was kept on her toes all evening by the Titans offense and she held her own in the back row with 9 digs.

Set one

Kloe Froebe’s first of many vicious kills gave Lincoln an early 5-3 lead in set one. Lincoln used a 7-0 run to pick up a 12-4 lead. This bit of action was the Sasse and Company show. Company paced the run with a couple kills and a big block while Sasse added an in-your-face kill that left the young Titans stunned. There was also a quick tip in the midst by Addy Qualters that earned a point for Lincoln. After Company hit the corner deep for another kill, Lincoln was in the lead 13-5. Froebe annihilated the volleyball for the Lady Railers next point. Wow, wow, wow! That ball was hit so hard it was traveling faster than Taylor Swift sells out concerts. The kill even garnered a quote from Lady Railer super fan Gayal Rademaker, who said, “You don’t have to be 6 '0 tall to have power.” Rademaker was referencing the phenomenal 6 '0 freshman, Alexis Neumann, over on the Titans team. Neumann was impressive all evening and held her own versus Lincoln. Neumann’s stats back her up if you check MaxPreps. Thanks to super volleyball fan and future coach Eva Leonard for that information.

Back to the action on the court, Froebe was just beginning to put on a show. A couple tips here and there and a couple more kills, again just “WOW!” and Lincoln was in a double-digit lead, 19-9 the score. Homecoming week must have Froebe all wound up! When it was all said and done, Lincoln was up 22-9 and with Froebe taking control, the lead would not disappear. However, the Titans young Varsity lineup, which features four freshmen and a couple stellar sophomores seeing a lot of time on the court, was very impressive and they held their own. In the end, Lincoln would win set one by a final score of 25-15.

Set two

Lincoln stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the second set with Sasse showing her strength. Two quick kills by the junior captain put the Lady Railers in this position. Froebe added another kill on the back row attack and this gave Lincoln a 5-3 lead. The Titans were holding their own on the other side and making Lincoln’s back row work hard. Froebe and Heitzig came up with some incredible digs as the Lady Railers held strong with the lead. After a Company kill Lincoln was on top 6-4. But the Titans are strong at the net and they defended Lincoln well. Pretty soon Lincoln found themselves down 6-7 and then things got worse, much worse. Lincoln found themselves trailing 9-14 and it was time for Coach Kaylee Lowery to call a timeout. After this particular timeout, the Titans only buried the Lady Railers even more, 9-17 now the score. Even after a couple powerful kills by Company and Sasse, Lincoln still trailed 16-20. Lincoln would get no closer than four points at the end, even with Company serving those wicked serves and her and Froebe still hammering the ball down. Lincoln drops set two 18-25.

Set three

Lincoln set the tone early in set three with Sasse’s kill that hit the line perfectly for the first point. With the Titans committing errors early on, Lincoln put up the first four points unanswered and that was just the momentum they needed. Lincoln would seemingly take the Titans out of their game early and the lead would quickly grow to 7-1 for the Lady Railers. Even after a timeout, the Titans couldn’t appear to shake it off and Lincoln took advantage by pulling up to an 11-2 lead. Company was instrumental in this effort, as she had previously hit the corner beautifully herself with a kill and then she was on top of the quick set delivered by Qualters. Froebe’s tip and kill kept Lincoln in control, leading 13-4. A 6-0 run by the Titans had Coach Lowery calling a timeout. The Titans would still get close, 13-11 the score, before Lincoln found the momentum they needed again to stay on top. The Lady Railers were not about to relinquish the lead, while the Titans were not about to quit trying and this made for a fun evening on the court. Lincoln held a 17-15 lead when Sasse stepped to the service line. She added to the lead with a kill and then an ace. Next it was an error by the Titans and Lincoln was up 20-15. After Froebe’s kill hit the line, Lincoln was more than ready to finish the set with the score now 21-15. Sasse’s second and third aces of this run gave Lincoln a 23-15 lead. After the Titans defense set Qualters at the net and she tipped it back over, Sasse had another service point to her credit and Lincoln had a 24-15 lead. The Titans called a timeout, having seen enough during this 7-0 run. Lincoln would give up two more points to the Titans after play resumed, however, Froebe quickly ended set three with yet another monster kill and Lincoln walked away with the CS8 win by a final score of 25-16.

Lincoln stays perfect in the CS8 with a 5-0 record and the team improves to 14-2 on the season.

Tuesday night’s action at Chatham was just what the Lady Railers needed to stay sharp and Coach Lowery recognized the ability of the opponent immediately after the win.

“Chatham had a great game tonight,” said Lowery. “I think it was a great lesson for our girls that we can’t let up against a good, solid team. Addy Qualters did a fantastic job running our offense and Becca Heitzig played some insane defense with 26 digs. Kloe Froebe stepped up as a real leader and key player tonight with 14 kills and 17 digs. We will get to work and prepare for Thursday at home.”

The Lady Railers JV team lost in two sets to Chatham-Glenwood, 12-25 and 19-25 the scores.

The Freshman team defeated Chatham-Glenwood 16-14, 14-16 and 15-9.

The rest of the week’s schedule:

Tonight

It’s Homecoming Week at LCHS and the girls will be participating in and probably dominating Wacky Olympics. Go Swifties!

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

Varsity stats versus Springfield Southeast

Peyton Sasse 15 kills 10 digs 1 block
Kloe Froebe 14 kills 17 digs
Alyssa Company 9 kills 3 digs 2 blocks 1 assist
Rebecca Burge 2 kills 1 dig
Addy Qualters 37 assists 3 kills 1 dig
Taryn Stoltzenburg 9 digs
Becca Heitzig 26 digs 1 assist
Lily Holmes 1 dig
Jenna Bowman 1 dig

[Teena Lowery]