How these former volleyball rivals merged into a potent force at tiny Raymond Lincolnwood
RAYMOND — Morrisonville’s volleyball co-op with Raymond Lincolnwood stunned Hailee Belsher.
Crossing over to the other side was almost unthinkable.
Another put it this way: they were fierce foes.
“We were like rivals, rivals,” Avery Pope said. “We always wanted to beat them.”
Lancers work out the kinks
Lincolnwood, a 147-student school, welcomed standouts Belsher and Tessa Funderburk from 83-student Morrisonville as part of the co-op last season.
They provided more than a spark. Belsher totaled 426 kills and 92 blocks while Funderburk contributed 383 assists en route to the Class 1A Edinburg Regional title and 32-6-1 overall mark.
They help form the vanguard again this season with 445 kills and 384 digs combined. Now, the No. 2-seeded Lancers (33-3) open the Class 1A postseason at 6 p.m. Wednesday at home against either No. 6 Nokomis or No. 12 Ramsey.
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The move presented at least one dilemma for Lincolnwood coach Kimberly Denney: what to do with the battle for setter between Funderburk and Pope? They each have 1,000 career assists to their name and split time together last season.
Not this year.
Funderburk now resides at outside hitter with 139 kills and 292 digs.
“She's never been a hitter,” Denney said of Funderburk. “She worked really hard in the offseason at club and then this summer to get ready for this.”
That has also allowed Pope to glisten with 571 assists, 243 digs and 55 kills heading into the postseason. Fellow seniors Haelee Damm and Jasmine Vickery also help underpin the defense with 259 and 217 digs, respectively.
“It was weird at first because we've never like talked to them and they were like our enemies,” Pope said of her Morrisonville comrades. “But once we started practicing together, we became closer and it got easier for us.”
‘Pin to pin’
Belsher has more than 1,000 career kills as a middle hitter. She is committed to play at Lincoln Land Community College after this season.
“I'm a little nervous,” Belsher said of playing at the next level. “I don't know really what to expect, but I've talked to the coach (Hannah Werth) and met her already and some of the teammates there.”
She has been a middle hitter since junior high. She leads the Lancers with 306 kills, 66 blocks and 92 digs.
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“You've got to be fast pin to pin,” Belsher said. “You've got to be able to work for everything.”
She kickstarted volleyball in third grade and credited John Komnick with the Springfield Shock for enhancing her ability over the last several years.
“You've got to be ready for anything anywhere because you can hit back row and you just look for the spots and pay attention to their side and where they're at,” Belsher said.
Lincolnwood fell to Lutheran 25-9, 22-25, 25-9 on Thursday, October 13.
It didn’t seem to sap Belsher's enthusiasm. She is buoyed by their progress over the last two years.
“It shows we have a lot of work to do, but we'll get there I'm sure,” Belsher said.
Contact Bill Welt: (217) 788-1545, bill.welt@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/BillWelt
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA volleyball: Morrisonville-Raymond Lincolnwood co-op finds success
