The Mehlhorn sisters each played a role this fall on a very competitive Manitowoc Lutheran High School Girl’s Volleyball team.
Let’s see, there’s Mallory, a senior libero who remains in the game at all times, and her freshmen twin sisters Marissa, an outside hitter, and Lilly, a setter.
Lancers Coach Lacey Behnke tells Seehafer News that she was very familiar with the athletic threesome, who are the daughters of Brian and Angie (Gates) Mehlhorn of Manitowoc.
“These girls too are tied to Lutheran High School before they ever stepped foot in here,” the coach said. “Their cousin played on our state team in 2009, so they came in watching Kelsey, and then one of their good family friends were the Neumeyer sisters, Brianna and Arianna. So these girls have kind of been ingrained with Lutheran High athletics for a very, very long time.”
The Mehlhorn girls spoke about the recently completed season, calling it a “lot of fun”, and saying they made “great memories together and it’s a time we won’t forget.”
Marissa was asked what it was like to play with her older sister.
She said, “I was excited to play with both of them but with Mallory too, because just seeing how we could all play together.”
Lilly said it was “cool to play with Mallory especially since it is her last year here and it was just cool to see how we improved each other.”
Mallory spoke of the instinctiveness among them.
“I’ve been told by a lot of people that they can just see that we’ve played together for so long, which we haven’t really played together on a team,” she explained. “But, just playing outside in the backyard and everything they said they’ve seen a lot of chemistry and I could feel it too.”
The older sister saw growth and maturity from the twins during the season.
“I’m really proud of the improvements that they’ve made,” she beamed. “I’ve been able to watch them grow, and I think it’s really cool, not only as a sister but also as a teammate, so.”
Coach Behnke revealed to us that, “Mallory stated it in her senior night booklet that this was her favorite memory playing with her sisters. I think where the trouble comes in is these girls love life. They love to be competitive but they also like to have fun doing it. So, they like to come in and giggle, crack a joke or play music and show off their dance moves. They definitely bring the lighter side of athletics as well.”
Coach Behnke said her team suffered some injuries during the season, including to Lilly, but by fighting through adversity they became a good team by year’s end.
Lutheran wound up with a mark of 15 and 15 and was edged by Southern Door in a 5-set Regional semifinal.
A disappointing end to the season to be sure, but like other multi-sport athletes, the Mehlhorn girls are turning their attention to basketball which begins a week from today.
