Volleyball: Timberwolves punch ticket to second straight state trip

LEXINGTON — For the third match in a row, the Cissna Park girls volleyball team seemed to be heading to a third set that would decide its season. This time it was in the IHSA Class 1A Lexington Super-Sectional against Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg on Monday, with a second straight trip to state on the line. It was also the second-straight matchup between these two teams in the super-sectional round.

The Timberwolves had won the first set 25-23 but trailed in the second set 19-10. But after erasing a 19-6 deficit in the sectional semifinals last week against Yorkville Christian, and early set deficits in the sectional finals against Lexington, they flexed their comeback muscles once again.

They rattled off an 8-0 run that started on a kill from Sophie Duis, who then went to the service line for the next seven points. Consecutive kills from Addison Lucht brought the score to 19-18 before the run was snapped.

But by then, Cissna Park was back within striking distance. Several hard-fought points later, including some clutch kills from Lucht and Josie Neukomm, they took the set 27-25 from the Hatchets to punch their ticket back to state.

The Timberwolves will play Calhoun at 10:30 a.m. on Friday at CEFCU Arena in Normal for the state semifinals, returning to the site of their fourth-place finish from last season.

Head coach Josh Landon praised his team’s ability to stay composed and make another second-set comeback and avoid a do-or-die third set.

“Remarkable team effort,” he said. “They were resilient again. Being down in sectional play by 13, then a few late against Lexington and then again tonight in set two, just the amount of composure these kids have is remarkable. T

“hey were even saying in the timeout, ‘one point at a time,’ and that’s what happened,” he added. “Sophie went behind the line, and I couldn’t be prouder right now.”

He said that the second-set run was only possible with the entire team contributing, starting with players like Savannah Kaeb being active at the net to disrupt the Hatchets’ attacks. Duis’ consistency at the service line allowed setters Mady Marcott and Ella Schluter, who each finished with 14 assists, to set up Lucht for her team-high 17 kills. Then Neukomm came up clutch, with two of her six kills breaking ties of 24-24 and 25-25 to keep the Timberwolves ahead late.

Duis, who finished third on the team with five kills in the game in addition to her clutch serving, said that these comebacks have led the team to believe that they’re never out of a set.

“No deficit is too much for this team,” she said. “We came back from a 19-6 deficit [in sectionals], and we’re always coming back, we’re never done. We’re not a give-up team and we’re always going to fight until the end. We have trust in each other, so even if we get down we trust that we’re going to work together to get back up, and we do.”

Lucht was a constant threat on offense throughout the match, as she has been all season. She often scored in bursts on Monday to build momentum for Timberwolves, with each kill drawing a cheer from the large number of Cissna Park fans that made the hour trip to Lexington. Lucht said that having such a great atmosphere helped the team feel comfortable, and has allowed them to now turn their sights toward state.

“We had a great environment,” she said. “We traveled really well, and I think that really helped us. We’ve got three more practices, one of them being at [CEFCU Arena]. I think we’re ready and we’re going to be really hungry to go back and finish better than we did last year.”

Last year, the Timberwolves rolled into state after beating Windsor in the super-sectional and lost to Hartsburg-Emden in the semifinals. They then fell to St. Anthony in the third-place game, losing the third set by just two points.

Those losses at state last season stung a bit, but Landon said that a fourth-place finish is something the team is of course proud to have to their name. But with that state experience now under their belts, he thinks they are better suited to head back to Normal and finish up strong.

“They were a little sour, taking in the whole experience and then going 0-2,” he said. “We keep saying, ‘you won fourth last year, you didn’t lose it. You won fourth because we had to get there.’

“Their mindset is going to be completely different now. The awe moment of walking into the arena isn’t going to be there,” Landon continued. “This year they’re a year older. You don’t want to say ‘been there, done that,’ but they’ve experienced the wow factor of it, and now it’s time to get in there and just play and see what happens.”

Duis, one of the team’s nine juniors, agrees that the year of experience the team has gained since last season will help them be more effective at state.

“A lot of us that are back were really young, so now we’re just a little bit older and more experienced,” she said. “I think this year is just taking a breath and just being ready, being a little bit more focused and not nervous.

“I think we did well last year, but I think we can do well this year and I think having a little more experience is going to help us go further.”

STAT BOOK

Lucht led the team with 17 kills, with Neukomm adding six and Duis adding five. Neukomm also led the team with nine digs, with younger sister Kendyl Neukomm finishing with four. Marcott and Schluter each had 14 assists.

UP NEXT

The Timberwolves will play Calhoun in the IHSA Class 1A State Semifinals at CEFCU Arena in Normal at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

https://daily-journal.com/sports/girls-volleyball-timberwolves-punch-ticket-to-second-straight-state-trip/article_0ac8e786-a0b9-11ef-8e12-33acbb9988e6.html