It was about this time in 1998

It was about this time in 1998-99

 

The 1998-99 Lehman Girls Volleyball team traveled to Centerville High School to play in the 1998-99 Regional Semis and Regional Finals. Back then, you had to win 2 games to advance to the State tournament at Wright State and there would be 3 matches and not five like they are today.

 

The 1998-99 Lehman Girls Volleyball team was Awesome. They were led by a great Senior Class: Jackie Watercutter, Meghan Tyler, Courtney Fuller, Sarah Henthorn, Megan Roeth and Kelly Short. They loved playing for Greg Snipes. These girls were a joy to watch and they played so well together. The rest of the team was rounded out by Juniors Jenni Fortkamp and Kara Reier, Sophomores Heather Butt, Michelle Pelter, Bethany Biggs and Joy Wills. The nightcap at Centerville High School was a thriller. I don’t recall who they played, but it was a exciting game. We looked down, but Jackie Watercutter, Jenni Fortkamp, Meghan Tyler would not let us lose,. Jackie was one who would ride over someone’s back to spike the ball, she was that good. Her and Jenni Fortkamp on the front line were an unstoppable duo. Bethany Biggs, Meghan Tyler Heather Butt and Michelle Pelter played a key role in that game to get us to Wright State.

When the team was in tournament play, Meghan Tyler created a buzz that went a long way: "Let's thunder 'em". Jenni Fortkamps' Mom, her husband did magnets, buttons etc that looked like a thunder cloud that had everyones name and number on it and during the games, the Lehman crowd would chant “We hear thunder” and went was a pretty cool phrase that carried us all the way to the state title game

 

We played some team in the State Semis and rolled over them. In the 2^nd game we were ahead by a nice margin and Junior Kara Reier, a girl I have known since the 1^st grade and one who rarely saw the floor her last two years at Lehman, brought the Lehman Crowd to its feet and some members of the Class of 2000 in attendance to tears as she scored the point to put us in the state championship game. To this day, its my favorite Kara Reier moment. The next day, we played Archibold in the State Championship and that team was not going to be denied that day. In the 2^nd match, they turned a seven point deficit into a 13 point rout and seeing my friends and girls that a lot of people enjoyed watching and made us proud being outplayed that way, was very difficult. To this day, I feel bad that your last game, Class of 1999 ended the way it did. You girls have a lot to be proud of. Your class had awesome athletes: Football to Baseball, Basketball to Volleyball. I remember the emotions on the floor. Megan Roeth’s face was as red a a bead. The next day in the Dayton Daily Sports page, there was a picture of Kara Reier crying. Words can't describe what that senior class meant to Lehman volleyball, they represented Lehman volleyball with class and ladies you have a lot to be proud of.