Lincoln Powerhouses Shine in HAC Tournament Championship

<p>These two squads know how to produce a classic.</p>   <p>Lincoln Southwest and Lincoln East met Thursday night to decide this year's Heartland Athletic Conference Tournament champion. The Silver Hawks were the two-time defending HAC title winners but had lost to Lincoln East in two of their prior three meetings this season. Still, LSW managed to even the 2023 series with a 3-1 win over the Spartans to lock up three-in-a-row in the HAC.</p>   <p>Let's revisit all the action from the final bout.</p>   <p></p>   <p><strong>Pin Hitters Lead the Way</strong></p>   <p>Outside attackers in this championship match received some serious attacking volume. This heavy workload can be attributed to a variety of things: long rallies, frequent scramble plays, or favorable matchups. However, it's perhaps more accurate to say that Lincoln Southwest and Lincoln East have offenses centered around their pin hitters. They get the job done, so maximize their opportunities.</p>   <p>Lincoln Southwest's first swing of the match was taken by senior opposite [player_tooltip player_id='152858' first='Madison' last='Rink']. That turned out to be a prelude to the many, many more attacks we'd see from the Northern Colorado commit. Rink ended up with the most kills and highest hitting efficiency among Silver Hawk attackers. It was a night of volume and effectiveness.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1715172171205480818?s=20 </div></figure>   <p>On the other pin, we saw left-side hitters [player_tooltip player_id='187807' first='Julia' last='Trost'] and [player_tooltip player_id='342615' first='Shelby' last='Harding'] take over during long LSW scoring runs. Trost entered the matchup as Southwest's leading scorer with a slightly larger tally than Rink. The veteran attacker made the most of her trips through the frontcourt and posted double-digit kills in the four-set win.</p>   <p>Harding has been that breakout player we keep coming back to in the Silver Hawk lineup. After impactful seniors graduated from last year's squad, the Silver Hawks needed someone to step up and carry a lot of responsibilities. That's the niche Harding has filled in 2023, and we can't wait to see what's next for the impactful junior.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1715159446517690805?s=20 </div></figure>   <p>With so many close contests between these two squads, you'd figure that Lincoln East has the pin-hitting firepower to counter the Silver Hawks. This is definitely the case. In fact, all three of Lincoln East's pin attackers are hovering around the same three-and-a-half kills per set mark on the year. </p>   <p>The go-to terminator in Thursday's matchup was senior left-side hitter [player_tooltip player_id='104986' first='Shandy' last='Faalii']. She was the persistent out-of-system outlet who made her best plays when ripping into the crosscourt. But Faalii's impact was not limited to the front row, as she was unquestionably the most effective server in the gym Thursday night. Colossal serving runs with Faalii behind the line became a major storyline in the championship bout, especially during Lincoln East's emphatic victory in Set 2.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1715178854929535463?s=20 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1715164739326669071?s=20 </div></figure>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='109612' first='Megan' last='Waters'] gladly took care of the frontcourt attacking duties while Faalii was in the back row. Moreover, the Spartans received excellent output from veteran opposite [player_tooltip player_id='187800' first='Brynne' last='Topolski'], who has emerged as the leading kill producer for Lincoln East this season. Topolski was particularly impressive on the 'D' pattern from the right-back area--a rare sight in the high school game. Faalii, Waters, and Topolski are each mainstays in the back row who have to bring a full array of skills to every Spartan outing.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1715171097195221099?s=20 </div></figure>   <p></p>   <p><strong>Controlling the Pace</strong></p>   <p>Even with how terminal the pin hitters were, this was still a match dictated by ball control.</p>   <p>Lincoln Southwest flexes its ball control advantage by using subs liberally. It's a platoon of "littles." Senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='124953' first='Teagan' last='Little'] is a constant in the contrasting jersey, but she also gets assistance from a few different faces at the DS position. [player_tooltip player_id='109613' first='Reese' last='Boyd'], a former Lincoln East Spartan and Morningside commit, put in some serious work for the Silver Hawks. Her aggressive serving shifted momentum in LSW's favor, which is exactly what you'd want from a player coming in off the bench.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1715179686714613835?s=20 </div></figure>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='155041' first='Olivia' last='Kremer'] is another familiar face in the Silver Hawk backcourt. She is asked to take up a large chunk of the middle-back area in serve receive. It's a tough task against an aggressive serving team like Lincoln East, but Kremer knows how to perform under this pressure.</p>   <p>Right-back defense was also an LSW strength, thanks in part to another former Lincoln East athlete: [player_tooltip player_id='109601' first='Aaliyah' last='Bradford']. Bradford's prep background is primarily at the setter spot, making her an ideal fit to play this area along the end line. She came up with some clutch crosscourt digs Thursday night, especially late in the match.</p>   <p>Of course, it's hard not to tie everything together with senior setter and Marquette commit [player_tooltip player_id='104989' first='Malayah' last='Long']. This aggressive signal-caller is always pushing the pace to her pins, preventing opposing teams from closing up seams in the block. Long also picks the perfect time to work her middles into the equation, making the Silver Hawks a balanced offense with a wealth of daunting matchups.</p>   <p>Lincoln East does not put nearly as many substitutions on its tab as Southwest. As we alluded to, passing and defense are largely entrusted to the pin hitters who play all the way around. Faalii brings tremendous foot speed to Zone 6, allowing her to pick up deep tips that might otherwise drop. The Spartans have a way of not letting these extensive responsibilities weigh down their offensive production.</p>   <p>It's worth giving a shoutout to [player_tooltip player_id='212045' first='Kendra' last='Riekenberg'], who has become Lincoln East's designating serving sub. The senior comes in and exerts pressure in a way that will keep her in the starting rotation through the rest of the season.</p>   <p>The Spartan setter spot has been a two-pronged position for most of the year. [player_tooltip player_id='351465' first='Kennedy' last='Johnson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='393553' first='Mandy' last='Mettscher'] have given Lincoln East plenty of options in the ball control phase, and both put in quality reps in Thursday night's match. Both will be needed for Lincoln East's prospective run to the state tournament.</p>   <p></p>   <p><strong>In the Trenches</strong></p>   <p>Finally, let's give a shoutout to the middles who anchored the net.</p>   <p>This title bout was quite a blocking affair. Most of LSW's roofs came through the physical right-middle combo of Rink and senior middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='152857' first='Emerson' last='Lionberger']. When Lionberger wasn't the one putting up the lid, fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id='152856' first='Abbie' last='Appleget'] did the honors. The Silver Hawks made some extraordinary blocking reads in their victory, which might have something to do with seeing Lincoln East for the fourth time this year.</p>   <p>Lincoln East regularly deploys three middle blockers for its two spots, and all three saw action in the HAC final. The most impactful blocker was junior [player_tooltip player_id='342564' first='Katie' last='Merten'], whose on-court energy was a game-changer for the Spartans. It's no wonder why she's leading the charge in the blocking category this year. On the other side of the rotation, we saw Alex Rasmussen and [player_tooltip player_id='342616' first='Brinley' last='Falkinburg'] lock down the net with plenty of block touches or straight-down stuffs. It was a complete effort that will keep Lincoln East in the Class A hunt.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1715169277462933805?s=20 </div></figure>   <p>So, consider this just another chapter in an ongoing saga. Perhaps the Silver Hawks and Spartans will be back on a collision course this November. Stay tuned.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1715182788574363741?s=20 </div></figure>

These two squads know how to produce a classic.