Inductees

If ever on I-70, exit off to Highway 19 south down a scenic two-laner, roll over the Missouri River and into one of the most quaint communities in the state of Missouri.

Here, the sport of volleyball has held a firm grip for decades. In fact, fans from afar may mistakenly assume that it began in the late 1970s, upon the arrival of coach Linda Lampkin (MSHOF 2013). Not the case, she will tell you.

“Volleyball has always been important in Hermann and had been very successful in the late 1960s and early 1970s,” Lampkin said. “Sylvan ‘Bud’ Krone had built a program that was very respected in our community and in our conference. At that time there were only two sports for girls at the high school level, volleyball and softball.”

And now look who is the standard bearer by which all other programs are judged. In fact, that’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the Hermann High School Volleyball Program with the Class of 2022.

No other Missouri high school volleyball program has advanced to more Final Fours than Hermann’s 27. And only Hermann can boast that it has captured 15 state championships. Those cover the years 1986, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2018, 2019 and 2021.

The state runner-up finishes were in 1988, 1989, 1999, 2009 and 2016. All other finishes were third place: 1983, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2007, 2017 and 2020.

Counting Lampkin’s tenure from 1980 to 2018 and since then under coach Phil Landolt, Hermann is 1,034-361-54, with Lampkin 943-344-50.

Overall, the program has won 35 district titles and 31 conference championships, and filled 86 slots on All-State lists over the years.

In essence, Hermann Volleyball is a story blended with hard work by small-town athletes, dedicated coaches, a wise willingness to change with the times and players who years later send their daughters on to continue tradition.

As former player Cheryl Schwartze put it, “I have to tell you that the older I get, the more I realize just how special it really is. It’s with you for life!”

Lampkin, a Hermann alum, had returned to Hermann as an assistant. A year later, the team won a district title.

“And it seemed that, once we had a taste for that, there was no going back,” Lampkin said. “Our goal became to advance to the Final Four.”

With Lampkin installing strategies learned from former coach Bud Krone and Missouri State University’s Linda Dollar (MSHOF 2011), Hermann began to soar. And not only did success materialize from hard work but strategy, too, with a focus on controlling the ball on defense.

At first, “The desire to make it to the Final Four and a great group of athletes combined to get us to the Final Four in 1983,” Lampkin explained. “Once we made it that far, we were determined to win a state championship. Once we won one, we decided that one was not enough.”

In 1996, Lampkin took the team to a camp in Nebraska that summer and for several summers after.

“Those drills have really contributed to our success and to what has become a trademark of Hermann Volleyball – ball control,” Lampkin said.

Ten years later, Lampkin brought in a coach from China who had been coaching at a U.S. university. That’s when the Bearcats learned of the quick arm swing and tough serving.

And then there was the arrival of Coach Landolt, a former collegiate club volleyball player.

“He brought new life into the program and to the coaching staff,” Lampkin said.

Along the way, Hermann practices were not confined to the varsity. Lampkin included freshmen, so that they could experience the tradition right away.

Lower level programs had been going strong, and Hermann also began a club team called Midstate Force.

“The biggest reason we have been able to maintain success is because we have had young ladies who were both talented and willing to work very hard and do what we asked them to do. And we have had great assistant coaches and great consistency in our coaching staff,” Lampkin said, pointing to coach Allen Speckhals, an assistant for 34 years, and Landolt, who arrived 19 years ago. “We have had parents who let us push their daughters out of their comfort zone. We have had support from our administration, student fans and our community. We have also had great competition throughout the season from teams who have helped make us better.”