Cissna Park’s senior core looking to make one final run together

Few groups of student-athletes in the state have had as much success in recent years as the current senior class for the Cissna Park girls volleyball team.

Over the past three seasons, the Timberwolves have gone a combined 103-16, won three straight regional titles and made it to the Class 1A State Finals in each of the past two seasons, finishing fourth in 2023 and third last season.

They don’t figure to be going away this season either, with all but two players returning from last season’s run at state, including its three Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association All-State selections in first-teamer Addison Lucht, second-teamer Sophie Duis and honorable mention selection Josie Neukomm.

Lucht, also the back-to-back Daily Journal Player of the Year, said that the team is well aware that there are heightened expectations heading into this season, but they’re just focused on doing what they’ve typically done to get to this point.

“Obviously, there’s going to be some high expectations from outside, especially from getting to state the last two years, but I think our group does a really good job of blocking that out and not putting too much pressure on ourselves,” she said. “We have our own expectations for ourselves, but I think those outside expectations are great. It means we’re doing something right.”

Head coach Josh Landon said the team hasn’t worried about putting in too much offseason work. What helps make this possible is having so many returning players who know what it takes to have success.

“They’ve been in the trenches,” he said. “Just to be able to build on those things each year, they have a very good idea of everything that’s going on and the expectations. The underclassmen look to them just knowing that they have had the success they’ve had.”

The success hasn’t only been limited to the volleyball court for this group, either. They’re also in the midst of a basketball regional three-peat, including back-to-back sectionals, a third-place finish at state as well as a season ago and a combined 85-20 record.

With many of the same players across both teams, they basically share a court from August through March while playing in big game after big game. Neukomm said that these experiences together have strengthened the relationship between her and her teammates.

“We’ve really bonded through many things,” Neukomm said. “Through injuries, through different circumstances, I would say our bond is what’s really keeping us together. We can motivate each other on another level, and we know we’re not trying to kick each other in the butts, just trying to motivate us to be the best players we can be.”

This motivation has certainly worked throughout their high school careers, but the bond of this senior class goes back to their junior high years. As they now prepare to make their final run together, Duis said the group is ready to make the most of it.

“I’m really looking forward to all the memories we’re going to make,” she said. “The greatest part of sports is the bonds you create and the memories you create together. I think just getting to spend more time with these people I’m so close with and have been with for so long for this last year, it’s really going to mean a lot.”