Mustangs’ stellar play at net carries them into sectional championship match

WHITE HALL, Ill. — The senior members of the Unity volleyball team have been to the sectional three times during their prep careers.

The first two times, the Mustangs were shown the door in the semifinals. 

Ashlynn Arnsman, one of four Unity seniors, is intent on making this final ride a long one.

“It was definitely in our minds,” Arnsman said of those earlier sectional exits. “I feel our season got cut short last year, and I really want to go farther than last year since this is my last year.”

Thanks to a complete team effort Monday night, which was highlighted by stellar play at the net by Arnsman and classmate Kyra Carothers, Unity will get a chance for some revenge when it plays for a Class 1A sectional title at North Greene High School. Carothers had 12 kills and Arnsman added nine in a 25-19, 25-19 semifinal victory over Raymond Lincolnwood. 

The victory pits Unity, which set a school record for wins by improving to 33-4-1, against Springfield Lutheran (35-3) in Wednesday’s 6 p.m. title tilt. Lutheran eliminated Unity from last year’s postseason. Lutheran (35-3) slipped past Hardin Calhoun 25-23, 25-23 in Monday’s other semifinal. 

“We didn’t play our best, but we didn’t get too rattled,” Unity coach Seth Klusmeyer said. “I thought we held our composure.”

Klusmeyer has the Mustangs’ rotation set up so that either Arnsman or Carothers is up front at all times. While they’re not side by side, there’s no doubt they play off each other.

“The excitement for me comes when Ashlynn gets a huge block or a big kill,” Carothers said. “We’ve both never really played the back row before. I think having both our presence in the game helps us a whole lot. Ashlynn has a lot of size and a lot of strength, so it’s fun to watch her.”

Facing Unity wasn’t much fun for Raymond Lincolnwood (34-4). Arnsman and Carothers took turns pummeling the Lancers in the first set. Unity led by as many as eight points and was never threatened. 

Unity again controlled much of the second set, leading by as many as five points before the Lancers clawed back into the game. Three times Lincolnwood tied the set, each time Unity regained the lead. The last tie came courtesy of a kill by Lincolnwood’s Hailee Beisher to make it 17-all. Carothers responded with two kills to give Unity the lead. Two straight kills by junior Sophia Schaffer pushed Unity’s lead to 24-19, and an Arnsman kill capped the win.

“If we’re hitting well, we’re tough to defend against because teams don’t really get to take much of a break,” Klusmeyer said.

The Mustangs are far from a two-person team. Senior Kylee Barry added four kills, while junior Hayden Frankel had two aces and senior Caroline Knox had 16 assists.

Last year, Lutheran knocked out the Mustangs in straight sets in a sectional semifinal. 

“I think we are a whole different group even though a lot of our kids played last year,” said Klusmeyer, who has won more than 450 games over 19 seasons with Unity. “We’re a different team this year. We just have kind of jelled this season. We’ve beat some good teams. We’ve been able to take the next step.”

Unity will be seeking its first sectional title since 2011 when it steps on the court for Wednesday’s title game. The Mustangs’ program has three previous sectional titles to their credit. The program’s last state tournament appearance came in 1986 under the two-class system.

The winner of Wednesday’s championship game will move on to Friday’s 7 p.m. super-sectional match at Meridian High School in Macon. The North Greene champion will face the winner of the Champaign St. Thomas More Sectional.