Following Tuesday night’s win over USM, the Lightning volleyball team improved their record to 13-6 on the season. Over the past weekend, the ladies found great success in the Dodgeland Invite, going on to be crowned the tournament champions. LCL took on D3 and D4 teams including Laconia, Rhinelander, Poynette, and Johnson Creek, and came out on top in the end.
Senior Hailey Foster explained, “Our serving as a team and serve receive today contributed to our success. We had many aces as a team which took our opponents out of rhythm, and our passing allowed Rachel [Rossing] to put up a good ball for our hitters.” Rossing, an all-state honorable mention setter last season, also capitalized on good passing against USM on Tuesday, contributing 15 assists in two sets played.
During the Dodgeland Invite, Foster attributed fellowship and devotion to the team’s strength and success following an initial loss to Laconia. She said, “I believe [devotions and visualization] helped because we came back stronger the next game, and we were able to get all the way to the championship and beat the team we first lost to. We bonded so much as a team recently that we are able to communicate well and play fluidly.”
Returning to single games Tuesday night against the Wildcats, the Lightning took the match 3-0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-9) at home, which moved their conference record to an undefeated 3-0.
“Karli [Molnau] contributes to our success and plays a huge role on the team. She’s very reliable on the court and she’s our go-to along with Ellie [Schumacher] when we need a point or side out.” Foster added in praise of her two younger teammates.
Sure enough, Molnau and Schumacher led the team in kills against USM with 11 and 8, respectively, contributing the important points and outs when needed.
The team may look quite different on paper this year, but senior graduations haven’t stopped the Lightning from finding success. While there’s still a lot of regular season play left, the ladies of 2022 have their eyes on the prize again, God-willing.
Foster explained, “Doing it for Christ and for fun, we’re looking to play OUR game and win through pressure. In the future we are looking towards state and we believe we can get there as a team, but it will take lots of hard work and commitment.”