High School Girls Volleyball
Pioneers handle Railers on Kill Cancer Night

 

[October 04, 2024] 

The Lincoln Railers volleyball team hosted the U-High Pioneers on Thursday night, as both teams wore special “Kill Cancer” t-shirts and joined forces to support a little boy named Reese Lowery. Lowery fought a rare form of leukemia, referred to as APML, this summer and he is currently in remission!

On the court, the U-High Pioneers volleyball team is having a great season and they came into Roy S. Anderson with a 22-2 overall record and a 6-0 record in the Central State Eight Conference. The Pioneers also brought along a basket full of gift cards from various Bloomington-Normal businesses that they generously donated towards the silent auction. The basket even included a shirt from Illinois State University.

Many local businesses and families also donated a variety of gift baskets with the proceeds going to the Lowery family. A 50/50 raffle was won by a Pioneer fan and he kindly donated the $215 back to the family. By the end of the night the two teams and their fans had raised $4,250 for little Reese.

One thing the Pioneers did leave Lincoln with was a two-set victory over the Railers, 25-18 and 25-21 the scores.

The Railers played the Pioneers tough, with Peyton Sasse leading the team with 13 kills. But U-High is just very strong at the net and very consistent at each position.

Still it was a great night for volleyball and an even better night to help out a local family.

Set one

The Pioneers earned a 3-0 lead on two kills and an ace before Lincoln ever got a good swing at the ball. Peyton Sasse would cut the lead to 4-2 on her first kill and she was just getting started. After Lily Holmes got her first kill of the night, the score was 5-4. Holmes tied the set 5-5 on an ace and then it was U-High’s turn to take the lead again. The Pioneers went up 9-6 but Lincoln stayed right with them, tying the set 9-9 after Makia Hassebrock’s kill. Lincoln even took a 12-9 lead and managed to stay ahead until a few errors and some lucky U-High serves put the Pioneers in front 14-13. The Pioneers went up 17-13, thanks in part to two kills by outside hitter Levyn Snow. Levyn Snow, a 5’10 senior, has a wicked windup and a deadly swing and she was about to cause a lot of trouble for the Railers. On Lincoln’s side, Sasse was still putting the hammer down and her kill from the middle made the score 20-15. After a tip by Lauren Tedrick the score was 21-17. Sasse earned another kill immediately after, proving that she not only has “hops” but that she can definitely annihilate a volleyball. U-High was just too strong down the final stretch and with both Levyn and Laney Snow getting kills, the Pioneers won set one 25-18. Laney Snow, by the way, is a 6’0 junior middle hitter.

Set two

Rebecca Burge and Lily Holmes guided the Railers to a 2-0 jump start over the Pioneers, with each recording kills. Laney Snow then had back-to-back kills that boosted the Pioneers to a 4-2 lead. Sasse’s kill tied the set 4-4 and it was obvious the two teams were going to remain close in this set too. U-High took a 7-4 lead before a Lincoln timeout. Sasse came back with a kill and after Dabria Dalpoas served an ace, Lincoln trailed just 7-6.

Lincoln went on a fantastic run, getting points from a couple blocks, some kills and even a tip. Sasse had her handprint over each and every point as the team battled back. At one point, Lincoln was down 9-6 and after seven straight points, the Railers were up 13-9. Lincoln was able to tie the set 9-9 after a block by Sasse and Hassebrock. Sasse then put down an amazing kill and her momentum carried her to another block, this time impressively on Levyn Snow. After U-High called a timeout, Sasse was back at it. She put down a monster kill and finally a tip to conclude the run. Sasse was showing confidence and playing really well as she slammed another kill down on U-High, sending two Pioneers to the floor coming up empty-handed. This gave Lincoln a 14-11 advantage. The Pioneers kept their composure and tied the set 14-14.

After a 15-15 score, the Pioneers began to pull away slightly. U-High took an 18-15 lead after a tip. The lead would eventually be 20-16 after an ace by the Pioneers. After consecutive errors by the Pioneers, the lead would dwindle to 22-19. Sasse had two huge kills in the final minutes of play, really showing the crowd some of her best work on this night, but U-High was just too powerful and too deep in their lineup. Madison Funk closed the set out with a kill for the Pioneers and they claimed a set two victory by a final score of 25-21.

Lincoln’s record is now 12-9 overall and 6-2 in the CS8 conference.

Lincoln stats

Sasse 13 kills
Holmes 2 kills
Tedrick 23 assists 1 kill
Burge 3 kills
Hassebrock 1 kill
Behrends 2 kills

A little update on Reese Lowery

Reese and his parents were unable to be in attendance Thursday night, as they are trying to stay away from germs. This little cancer warrior went through a rigorous treatment plan at St. Louis Children’s Hospital this summer. He needed to get to less than 5% leukemia cells in his bone marrow in 29 days and while it seemed impossible, he did it! He got the percentage so low the machines could not even detect it. After two months of intense treatment, he is home and in remission. Great news!

The Lincoln volleyball team also honored the sister of assistant coach Brighton Robbins. Brooklyn Robbins is a cancer warrior who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2023. She is a graduate of LCHS and she was two young sons. She was declared cancer free this summer.

[Teena Lowery]