The floor at CEFCU Arena in Normal is hardly foreign territory for Cissna Park.

But in what is its third straight appearance at the Class 1A state finals, the Timberwolves did something in Friday morning’s state semifinals that they had never done before.

After losing in the semis in each of the past two seasons, the Timberwolves defeated Tremont 25-19, 25-20 to break through to the state title match for the first time.

The Timberwolves (39-1) will play Stockton (36-5) at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, looking for their first state championship.

“This one feels amazing,” senior Addison Lucht said. “The last two years playing for the third-place game, that’s still special. We’re one of the final four teams left, but this year’s a whole lot better.”

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Volleyball: Cissna Park vs. Tremont, Class 1A State semifinals Cissna Park players celebrate following the Timberwolves' victory in two sets, 25-19, 25-20, over Tremont in the IHSA Class 1A State semifinals on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (Morgan Sinn for Shaw Local News Network/Morgan Sinn for Shaw Local News )

Lucht led the team with 14 kills on just 24 attacks in Friday’s semifinal, helping lead the Timberwolves to a team hitting percentage of .310. Josie Neukomm added 10 kills while Sophie Duis and Marina Day had four apiece, with Day recording a kill on all four of her chances.

The team’s reliable pair of setters, junior Mady Marcott and sophomore Ella Schluter, had 16 assists and 14 assists, respectively, to facilitate an offense that had 34 kills to Tremont’s 16.

“I think they split up our offense really well, continuing to get balls to our middles,” Neukomm said of her setters. “Shoutout to Marina Day. She hit 1.000, four-for-four.”

But despite the somewhat lopsided attack numbers, underdog Tremont did not make things easy on Cissna Park despite coming into the game with a 23-17 record to the Timberwolves’ 38-1 mark.

The Turks made an improbable run to state, beating Deer Creek-Mackinaw, Orion and Hartsburg-Emden in the postseason, all teams that they had lost to during the regular season.

While Cissna Park pulled away to close the first set, the Timberwolves’ lead sat at just 20-18 late. The second set was even tighter, featuring six ties and three lead changes.

The Turks seemed poised to force a third set after taking a 16-14 lead thanks to a 5-0 run, which included three straight aces from Nora Parsons that turned a 14-13 deficit into that two-point lead.

But the Timberwolves battled back to take a 19-18 lead, and after the Turks tied it again at 19, closed out the set on a 6-1 run and celebrated their first semifinal win.

“In the huddle, [head coach Josh Landon] said that we’re resilient,” Lucht said. “We’ve been battle-tested all season. We’ve played a really tough schedule to be prepared for those moments, and we’ve had multiple times during the season where we were down and had to come back and fight.

“We know what it feels like, and having that experience is why we were able to do it again today.”

Another key for the Timberwolves, and particularly their senior core, is the experience of competing at state.

They have come a long way since November 2023, when they played in the state tournament for the first time.

And now, with a wealth of postseason volleyball under their belts, and a trip to state for girls basketball back in March that resulted in a third-place finish for many of the same players, Duis said the team feels right at home at CEFCU Arena.

“I think we have kind of an advantage with that,” she said. “... I think it just gives us a little bit more of that mental fortitude where we can be calm and ready and not too starstruck of the new facility and the new stuff that comes with state. We’re a little bit more prepared for that, and we don’t get rattled as easy.”

Up next is a Stockton team that is not quite as experienced at state as the Timberwolves, but is still coming off a second-place finish last season in its first its first-ever state appearance.

Landon has been coaching Cissna Park since 2006, and led the team to back-to-back state appearances in 2014 and 2015 as well, with a second-place finish coming in 2015.

The Timberwolves have gone a combined 142-17 over the last four years, and now have a chance to cap that run with a championship.

“It would be amazing to go out on top,” Landon said. “Four years of 30-plus wins, three trips to the final four. Quite the run, and they don’t want to be finished yet.”