Lincoln volleyball reaches historic milestone with 3A supersectional win over Mascoutah
LINCOLN — The Lincoln volleyball team never lost its swagger.
The Railsplitters coasted to a 25-11, 25-18 victory over Mascoutah in the Class 3A Taylorville Supersectional at Dolph Stanley Court and earned their first state berth since 2000 on Friday.
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In the Class 2A Carlinville Supersectional, Pleasant Plains bowed to Breese Mater Dei 25-12, 25-14 and ended its season 30-10.
Lincoln (35-4) only had a small hitch early in the second set before regaining command en route to the semifinals against Chicago St. Ignatius on Friday at 4 p.m. at Redbird Arena in Normal.
The Wolfpack (25-9) knocked off Burbank St. Laurence 26-24, 25-20 for their first-ever ticket to state. Wheaton St. Frances faces Morton in the other semifinal on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
The championship match is Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
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“I think we were just consistent,” Lincoln junior outside hitter Peyton Sasse said. “Yes, we kind of had a bit of a bump in the road in the second set, but I wouldn’t really call it a down for us. We were still communicating, we were still talking to each other and we still had the same energy.
“We knew we were one set away from state, and we did what we had to do to finish it.”
Lincoln trailed 8-5 in the second set before senior libero Becca Heitzig reeled off four straight service points and an ace. Heitzig, the reigning Female Athlete of the Year, will trot off to the Class 2A girls cross country state meet as the area’s top runner on Saturday morning in Peoria.
“We were just focusing, ‘First to 5, first to 10,’” Lincoln senior setter Addy Qualters said. “That’s what we do every time.
“The positivity is awesome. We’re never negative on each other. We always want to make each other better every single ball.”
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A large share of the lineup also catapulted the girls basketball team to its first state appearance since 1999 with a 61-39 win over Highland in late February.
Kaylee Lowery, in her first season at the helm, has previous state experience herself. She has appeared both as a player and assistant coach at Hartsburg-Emden under Jennifer Hayes.
The Stags, located just a few minutes outside Lincoln, will also make the trip to Normal following a 25-17, 15-25, 25-19 victory over Annawan in the Class 1A Bushnell-Prairie City Supersectional. Hartem (32-7) will meet Cissna Park in the semifinal round at 9 a.m. on Friday.
“I’m really hoping the third time is the charm,” said Lowery, who earned second place on both occasions. “I can’t wait to be back there and have the girls experience what I experienced as a player. There’s nothing like it.
“It’s almost more rewarding as a coach to see how much they love it – the joy and drive they have. It’s just great to be a part of it.”
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Lincoln never trailed in the first set after senior outside hitter Kloe Froebe, who is committed to the Colorado State University women’s basketball team, belted out a kill and ace at the onset.
Sasse and junior middle blocker Rebecca Burge combined for nine kills in the first set.
“I love all of these girls,” Burge said. “We’ve been playing together for a long time. It’s the same team as last year, and we’ve been preparing for this moment for a really long time. We just came out and worked really hard.”
Sasse led the Railers with nine kills, while Froebe and senior middle blocker Alyssa Company had six and five, respectively. Qualters dished up 26 assists.
“That’s definitely really nice to know if the other team’s blockers are really stacking up on me that I have Kloe, Rebecca, Alyssa, Makia (Hassebrock) and everyone else in the front row to step up and take some swings when I can’t,” Sasse said.
It will be the team’s fourth-ever trip to state.
“It’s definitely been a full-circle moment,” Sasse said. “This has been our goal since Day One to go to Redbird Arena, and we’re finally doing it.”
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA volleyball: Lincoln advances to state for first time since 2000
