Lancaster could have fallen. Down two sets, their backs to the wall, a new season for a young team seemed destined to begin with a disheartening loss in a big ECIC I matchup.
For sisters Cara and Paige Lewandowski, it wasn’t just a game; it was an extension of a life built on volleyball.
The gym at Williamsville North High School pulsed with the tension of a five-set match, and it was a litmus test. The Lancaster Legends, in the words of coach Becky Edwards, “are all new fresh faces.”
Last year’s team, which had advanced to the regional game, was gone. This new group, in its infancy, was now facing a formidable opponent in the Spartans. They dropped the first set. Then the second.
Inside the huddle, something shifted. Cara, a senior, looked at her teammates, at her sister and saw a reflection of the program’s enduring spirit.
“We had the mentality of never giving up,” she said later.
Just like that, the energy came back. It was a conscious decision, a roar from within. The Legends clawed their way back, winning the final three sets to complete the improbable comeback. It wasn’t just a victory; it was a statement. A message to their opponents, to their alums and most importantly, to themselves. They were still Lancaster volleyball.
This kind of fight isn’t something that comes overnight. For the Lewandowski sisters, it was passed down through their lineage. Their parents, Melissa and Rob, are former players. Melissa is a member of the Frontier High School Hall of Fame and played at St. Bonaventure. Rob played collegiately at Lock Haven.
They met through the sport, a bond forged across the net that led to a family. Their children, Cara and Paige, were born into the sport. They spent their childhoods in clinics, their evenings in the backyard with a volleyball net and their lives immersed in the sport their parents loved.
It’s this deep understanding that makes their relationship with their parents unique.
“It’s really easy to talk to them about it because they get it,” said Paige, a sophomore. “Some parents just don’t get it in our way of speaking.”
It’s a language they all speak, a shared dialect of bumps, sets, and kills.
Cara, who first made varsity as an eighth-grader, always had older role models to look up to. She watched how they carried themselves, how they led and how they built a foundation for success. Now, as one of the two seniors on the team, she is paying it forward.
“The people that were older than me left a great impact on me,” Cara said. “I just try to act and talk the same to the younger girls.”
Paige always dreamed of playing with her older sister. When she made varsity last year, it was a dream come true.
“Being on the floor with her is amazing,” Paige said. “We do everything together, and we’re best friends.” Their bond, she said, is “a step in our relationship, making us closer.”
While their personalities may be different, they balance each other out – a perfect yin and yang on and off the court. Even Edwards, who has coached plenty of sister tandems, said she’s “never had a pair of sisters who were the most impactful players on the team” with no fighting.
The Legends’ success is not just about talent; it’s about a culture of trust and shared purpose. A character-building coach, Gene Masters, works with the team to reinforce their foundation. The team has a motto: “All in.” When the coach asks if they’re in, they shout back “All in!” in unison. It’s a promise to themselves and to each other.
“What he says about our team compared to other teams he works with is, we already have the foundation of a great program and culture,” Edwards said. “We have good athletes and good people who love their teammates.”
With this foundation, the No. 2-ranked Class AAA team in New York has its sights set on the future. They fell short of their goal in regionals the past two years, but this year, they believe it’s different. They are unified, determined and ready to carry on the legacy of Lancaster volleyball after making it to the state final in 2022.
“We’ve put in a lot of work and will continue to work hard through the season,” Cara said. “That milestone would be huge, and hopefully, we win states.”
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Clevis Murray
Sports Reporter
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