High School Volleyball
Lady Railers start season at Sacred Heart-Griffin

 

[August 28, 2024] 

The Lady Railers volleyball team opened the 2024 season on Tuesday night versus the Sacred Heart-Griffin Cyclones at Jim Belz Gymnasium.

Lincoln nearly had the sweep of the Cyclones, with the freshman team starting the night winning in three sets, 9-15, 20-18 and 15-10.

The Lincoln JV team won 25-23 and 25-18.

After the Railers Varsity squad took set one 25-16, the Cyclones stormed back to take set two 25-21 and set three 25-19.

Lincoln was led by junior Lily Holmes with 10 kills. Peyton Sasse added 7 kills.

The Cyclones were led by Kendall Stotlar with 14 kills and Josie Mack added 10 kills.

Set one

Lincoln’s starters on opening night included Peyton Sasse, Rebecca Burge, Jayden Behrends, Lauren Tedrick, Lily Holmes, Makia Hassebrock and the libero, Meghan Devore.

Lily Holmes came out strong for Lincoln, recording the first two kills of the game. Peyton Sasse’s kill put Lincoln up 3-2 and the offense was looking sharp early. After a tip by Rebecca Burge and two aces by Makia Hassebrock, the Railers were on top 7-2. The Cyclones used a couple kills and an ace to close the gap to 8-6. A few errors by the home team kept Lincoln in the lead, 10-6 the score.

Lincoln continued to outscore the Cyclones, as Holmes added two more kills and Hassebrock and Sasse each stepped up with a kill and an ace respectively, bringing the lead to 14-8. Lincoln began to run away with set one, as the score reached 23-11 thanks to multiple kills by Holmes and Sasse and a couple aces from Hassebrock. After a string of errors by Lincoln allowed the Cyclones to score a handful of points, the score was 23-16 and Lincoln decided to put a stop to the Cyclones' fun. Sasse’s kill and block, with help from Jayden Behrends, slammed the door on SHG and Lincoln took set one 25-16.

Set two

Sasse started set two with a kill and Lincoln proceeded to take charge with a 3-0 lead. The Cyclones showed more fight in this set and they quickly stole the lead, going up 5-3 on Lincoln. The Cyclones lead grew to 8-4 before Lincoln tied the game on a kill by Hassebrock. The Railers kept the game tied 11-11 after a huge kill by Sasse. Lincoln stole the lead on a soft serve by Holmes that stunned the Cyclones. Lincoln increased that lead to 13-11 after winning a long, dramatic volley. Holmes was still at the line and she dished up another soft serve that melted the Cyclones defense and put Lincoln up 15-11.

Lincoln would stay on top 18-16 and even 20-18 before the Cyclones seemed to catch a break and see a shift in the momentum. Two kills by the Cyclones outstanding middle hitter, Kendall Stotlar, really made the difference down the stretch, not to mention making the score an even 21-21. Following a timeout, the Railers committed a couple errors, while the Cyclones were successful on offense with a tip and a kill, securing a 25-21 win.

Set three

The Cyclones fans really got behind their team in the final set and Lincoln had to fight hard for every point. The Railers fell behind 5-2 and the best they could do early on was a 7-7 tie. SHG was like a sleeping giant that had been woken up late in the second set and they were pounding the ball consistently from the middle at the Railers. The Cyclones offense found the holes in Lincoln’s defense and this allowed them a 10-7 lead without looking back. After a block on Sasse that ignited the crowd even more, the Cyclones were up 16-10. Despite two great kills by Holmes, the Cyclones maintained control of the game with an 18-14 lead.

Simply put, the Cyclones were chasing down anything and everything and keeping the ball in the air. With an 18-15 lead, it was going to take a meltdown by the Cyclones for Lincoln to have any chance at all. The meltdown never happened. SHG was on a roll and Lincoln quickly found themselves on the losing end of a 24-18 score. After a monster block on Hassebrock to end the game, the Cyclones walked away 25-19 winners.

Lincoln starts the season 0-1.

Lincoln will host Champaign Centennial on Thursday night.

Freshman at 5:00 p.m.

Junior Varsity at 6:00 p.m.

Varsity at 7:00 p.m.

The unveiling of the 2023 IHSA Class 3A State Runner-Up banner will also take place this evening.

[Teena Lowery]