Lancer Nation erupted in unison last Saturday in Kohler when sophomore Morgan Jost’s service ace propelled Manitowoc Lutheran to the WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon, where they’ll play Wabeno/Laona in a Division Four semifinal.
They won an epic five-set match over Heritage Christian of New Berlin to advance to the big dance for the first time since 2009.
Jost told SeehaferNews.com that as she went to the line for the serve, “I just thought to myself, I got this, I just relaxed, relied on all my training and before I served, I just said to myself, I got this.”
The Lancers arguably had the toughest road to set to state, defeating top-ranked Living Word Lutheran of Jackson and the third-ranked Patriots to make it to the Resch.
Sophomore Brook Duveneck said those matches will forever be engrained in her memory.
She said, “Matches like this provide life lessons you can learn from, especially to keep grinding even when the chips are down, and things are not going your way.”
The Lancers are 36 and 7 and the top seed in The Division Four state field.
Junior Olivia Martin says they’re successful beyond having great chemistry on the court.
“I think we are all great friends, both on and off the court. That helps all of us. No matter what happens we have our Lord who is always there to support us,” she explained. “We also have a great support system in everyone at school, our friends and our families. We are blessed to have so many people have our backs, no matter what.”
Junior Abby Behnke is confident heading into Thursday’s state semifinal against the Running Rebels.
“I think that if we play our absolute best, I definitely feel we have the ability to win a state championship,” she said with confidence.
Head Coach Lacy Behnke concurs, adding that state is a different animal and that the mentally toughest team is likely to prevail.
“We were facing elimination twice against two of the top three teams in the state, and they found a way to dig down deep, show a lot of grit, and prevail,” she told SeehaferNews.com. “If we handle and deal with adversity when it comes our way, we’ll be just fine.”
Match time is 11:30 a.m. Thursday morning.
