Petoskey's Lily Flynn embraced change and chance to build program for the future
· Yahoo Sports
PETOSKEY — Lily Flynn could have had a totally different approach to her senior season on the volleyball court.
An outside hitter for Petoskey throughout her career, Flynn was asked to change positions, leaving behind the glory of racking up kills for the back row as a libero.
Visit albergomalica.it for more information.
She would also spend most of the season surrounded by players she didn’t grow up playing with, as freshmen and sophomores filled the court, including a pair that would step into that outside job.
“I kept asking, ‘Yes, no? Are you good with this?’ And she was,” Petoskey coach Erin Luckhardt said. “That’s not a role that she’s played before. She’s played back row, but playing back row exclusively is different for her and she’s stepped into it and done a great job.”
Flynn’s attitude to change and an up and down 2026 campaign wasn’t the kind you might expect.
She embraced playing in the back, calling things out on the court and leading a young team experiencing not only varsity volleyball for the first time, but high school.
“I also felt like I was more confident in myself in the back row,” Flynn said. “I think that positon fits me better.”
Luckhardt knew Flynn had the natural leadership abilities she needed on the defensive side, a big piece to making that move, beyond the talent she had for serve receive.
“Lily, just her voice and her leadership in the back row,” Luckhardt said. “You can hear her on the court when she’s calling things. That’s the kind of leadership we’re looking for in a libero, someone who is willing to step into that.”
On Thursday, Flynn stepped onto the Petoskey High School volleyball court for one final time, meeting an Alpena team that Petoskey could very well see again in districts ahead.
Petoskey earned a quick sweep, dominating the first set, 25-5, before wins of 25-20 and 25-19.
When the match closed, one of those freshmen, Claire Pike, instantly wrapped Flynn up in a giant hug, with another freshman, Jane Horsburgh, by her side. That moment, without words, said enough.
It was a great final stamp to not only Flynn’s and the rest of the seniors’ home career, but to a challenging season that’s felt more like a rebuild than anything this season.
Flynn embraced that aspect too, and felt things clicked between the upperclassmen and freshmen right away.
“I feel like it’s been pretty easy actually,” she said. “They’re pretty outgoing people and they’re ability, they’re really great. It was a great way to end the season for them.”
Flynn led with eight digs and added an ace on 100 percent serving. Fellow senior Julia Dieterle recorded 10 kills, three blocks and hit with an .833 percentage.
Seniors Cora and Courtney Howard each had 10 assists and Horsburgh and Pike had eight and seven kills, respectively. Horsburgh also had five aces and Anna Miller recorded nine.
Petoskey will turn its focus to a small and familiar district ahead, with Gaylord, Marquette and Alpena making up the bracket. First up will be a trip to Gaylord on Monday, Nov. 2.
While the Blue Devils are a team that Petoskey’s beaten twice already, Luckhardt knows they came with challenges in five- and four-set victories.
“Gaylord is a team that is pretty relentless,” she said. “They don’t give up and we’ve talked a little about that.”
And while it might be the end for Flynn and the rest of the seniors, regardless of when it comes ahead, she’s looking at it from a different angle.
Setting future Northmen teams up off a district championship and trip into regionals would be a big notch for the program’s rebuild.
“I think we can do something good with this, with all the freshmen and even the eighth graders coming up,” Flynn said. “I think they’re going to be pretty good. This is going to set a new start to the program and I think it’s gone pretty well already and it’ll go good.”
Reach Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at [email protected] and follow him on X @DrewKochanny and Instagram @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey's Lily Flynn embraced change and chance to build program for the future