Different times. Different needs. Same positive results.
Sophomore setter/right-side hitter Kiera King has been a multipurpose contributor for Lincoln-Way Central all season long.
“I do it for the team,” King said. “The team really makes me feel like a part of everything. We’re all like one person on the court. I just love it.”
She was her versatile best Tuesday night, setting, hitting and serving the Knights past Lincoln-Way West 25-17, 25-22 during a Class 4A T.F. South Regional semifinal in Lansing.
King notched five assists, five kills and two aces for the Knights (22-14). Carli Udovich contributed six kills and two blocks, while Nicole Connolly added six digs and Alyssa Teske had 13 assists.
Laney Tuttle led Lincoln-Way West (18-17) with four kills, eight digs and two blocks. Caroline Smith added five kills and six digs, while Ashley Miller had 11 assists.
Lincoln-Way Central will play Andrew at 6 p.m. Thursday in the regional final. The Thunderbolts defeated host T.F. South 25-12, 25-10 in the other semifinal.
Colleen Cleary chalked up seven kills for Andrew (20-13). Katie DeHaan added 26 assists and eight digs, while Brooke Haggerty made 13 digs.
King has been a stat stuffer this season for Lincoln-Way Central. She went into Tuesday’s match with 114 kills, 276 assists and a team-leading 47 aces.
She left an imprint in all three categories in a state playoff opener.
In Game 1, West rallied from a 20-13 deficit to get within 20-17 when a side out sent King to the service line.
Her first two serves resulted in points for the Knights. Her last two serves were good for aces.
“When teams tend to come back and I’m back there serving, I try to serve as hard as I can,” King said. “I know my strongest serves get the most points. If it’s hard enough, it’ll score.”
King sparked the Knights to a good start in Game 2 with a block. Later, the Warriors rallied again and staved off two match points before Teske set King on the right side.
Her attack went straight down for the winner.
Midway through the spring season, Lincoln-Way Central coach Mary Brown brought up King and Teske as freshmen to the varsity from the sophomore team.
“It was huge for me,” King said. “It kind of always had been my dream to be on the varsity as a freshman. That was my goal, and to achieve that was just so great.”
In one year, King and Teske went from being competitors at different middle schools to being a one-two combo for hitting and setting.
“It’s truly amazing to work with her,” Teske said. “We have such a strong connection. I can rely on her to help me out and she can rely on me. We can both work off each other, and it just makes us stronger.
“I know how to set her because I know what she wants and it’s natural to me now. We’ve been doing it all season. I know that no matter what, even if I make a mistake, she’ll work around it and put the ball where it needs to be.”
Lincoln-Way West spent the majority of its final match chasing deficits. Tuttle and Caroline Smith — both freshmen — did a lot to make it close.
“We come back, we don’t give up,” Warriors coach Kendall Villa said. “The point before match point, Caroline put a ball down in the middle.
“We’re young. In the last round, I had two freshmen and a sophomore on the court. We’re young, we’re building, we’re trying to get consistency. We’re just going to keep trying.”
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October 27, 2021 at 10:26AM
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'I do it for the team': Kiera King keeps multipurpose streak going, sparks young Lincoln-Way Central past West in regional semifinals. - Chicago Tribune
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