Photo Credit - Manitowoc Lutheran High School
The Manitowoc Lutheran volleyball team earned a thrilling victory over Big East foe Oostburg in a WIAA Division Three sectional semifinal in front of a ruckus crowd at Lancer Circle.
The Flying Dutch won the first two tightly contested sets, 23-25,23-25 and were in position to possibly sweep the defending two-time state champion right out of the tournament.
The Lancers rallied to win the next two sets 25-14 and 25-17 to set up a winner-take-all fifth set.
It looked like the Lancers were on their way to a tremendous comeback as they took a 10-6 lead, only to have Oostburg tie the fifth set at 10.
The Flying Dutch actually grabbed a 13-12 lead but, in the end, the Lancers won the final three points to grab set five 15-13 and advance to Saturday’s Division Three Sectional Final against the Phoenix of Watertown Luther Prep, who defeated Laconia three sets to none to advance.
When asked by seehafernews.com how the Lancers won this epic classic match, Coach Lacey Behnke said, “This team doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit. They’ll run through a brick wall to chase down a ball to keep a point alive.”
She added that “We did not match their intensity coming out of the gate. It was like we were in shock. After the second set, everybody looked each other in the eye and said, ‘We’ve been through this before, and we relied on that experience to pull us through.’”
She also gave tons of credit to Oostburg, saying they “came ready to play tonight. They arguably played one of their better matches of the year and deserve all the credit in the world for pushing us to the brink. They have a real fine team, and they’ll be heard from in the future.”
The Lancers improve to 30-11 while the Phoenix of Watertown Luther Prep bring a 16-match winning streak and an overall record of 32-2 to Saturday’s sectional final in Chilton.
The winner heads to the state tournament next week, which will be held at Resch Center in Ashwaubenon.
The match is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m.
