‘Twas The Night Before Sectionals: Matchups Too Close To Call
A theme throughout the year on Wisconsin high school volleyball has been “Parity”. In Division 1, there were four different teams who claimed the top spot. In Division 2, there has been a crew of five teams who have always…
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Continue ReadingA theme throughout the year on Wisconsin high school volleyball has been “Parity”. In Division 1, there were four different teams who claimed the top spot. In Division 2, there has been a crew of five teams who have always been locked into those top spots. In Division 3, we have Stratford who have blazed through their schedule while the likes of Aquinas, Lake Country Lutheran, Living Word Lutheran, and others who have faced challenging schedules and have been battle tested all year. Division 4 has had Clayton on top from even last season, but the rest of the field is completely up for grabs. There are some matchups across all divisions where its just too close to call. Flip a coin. Either way, the excitement for teams getting one step closer to the state tournament after Thursday night will be at an all time high. Every team seems to have that one match, or that one opponent who is a thorn in their side. Will this be the year of their breakthrough?
Matchups Too Close To Call:
Division 1
Gabby Johnson of SPASH going up for the kill.Wausau West (33-3) vs. SPASH (35-3)
These two conference rivals have split this season with SPASH taking the first match 3-2 and West taking the second 3-1. SPASH has a Senior dominated lineup, led by Green Bay recruit Kayla Lass with nearly 300 kills and middle Gabby Johnson, an under the radar athlete who is extremely explosive. West has a duo of outside hitters in Senior, Paige Brandenburg who has 470 kills and springy Sophomore outside, Robyn Kirsch who has just under 300 kills. These two teams know each other all too well. The outsides are going to get their fair share of swings, but the team who can serve receive and get their middles their touches will have the upper hand.
Neenah (32-14) vs. Oconomowoc (27-7)
Three years ago these two teams faced off in the state tournament which was a five set marathon won by Oconomowoc, the next year Neenah managed to beat them in the Sectional Final to get to state and this year these top programs meet in the sectional semifinal. Neenah has had an up and down season with a little adversity with All State outside Addison Barnes being out for a few weeks with an injury, but she is back and hitting her stride. The Rockets also have All State libero, Kayla Kraus who will be joining Barnes next year at Loyola. Oconomowoc has one of the top 2020 recruits in the state in setter, Tayler Alden who can jump and swing with her left hand out of the front row or distribute to physical middle hitter Elle Schult and outside Maleah Howe. This is a draw, both are great teams, both have a balance of youth and experience, and a history of postseason dramatics which I would anticipate Thursday night’s match will be another.
Division 2
Wisconsin Lutheran (40-7) vs. Catholic Memorial (36-12)
With 16 teams left in Division 2, Wisco and CMH just happen to be two top five teams playing particularly early in the tournament compared to some other ranked teams. Wisco has three attackers with over 200 kills in Julia Treichel, Carissa Sundholm, and Natalie Tesch. Treichel leads the way with over 400 kills and Grace Beyer is closing in on 1,000 assists for the season. CMH has a Senior dominated lineup led by outside hitter Jenna Weinfurt and Portland State recruit Caroline Dragani. Wisco has huge wins over the likes of Waunakee and Waukesha West where CMH has big wins of KML twice and Arrowhead.
Kettle Moraine Lutheran (28-10) vs. University School of Milwaukee (30-4)
This was supposed to be a down year for KML after losing six Seniors last year. However, with Milwaukee recruit Ari Miller and some youth in the lineup including Elle Truckenbrod who has close to 250 kills on the season and Junior libero Gianna Feld with over 400 digs, the Chargers have put together a streak since winning the Neenah tournament defeating Neenah twice and Appleton North to claim the title. USOM is led by Senior Chynna Bacchus on the outside as well as Freshman Abbie Stigler.
Other Notables:
East Troy vs. Lakeside Lutheran – East Troy has been knocked out by Lakeside Lutheran the past couple of years and come into this year’s match as the favorite behind Brianna Scuric and Katie Winkler.
Xavier vs. Little Chute – Hannah Vanden Berg of Little Chute is the first, second, and probably third option for the one loss Mustangs, but Xaver playing well as of late and has Wisconsin recruit Liz Gregorski back playing as a libero recovering from a knee injury.
Division 3
Howards Grove (34-7) vs. Lourdes Academy (37-7)
Youth vs. Experience. Howards Grove has Freshmen leading them in kills and aces (Karissa Kaminski and Myka Roethel) while Sophomores lead them in digs and assists (Mackenzie Holzwart and Leah Parnitzke). The Tigers have not lost since the Charger Rally which was over a month ago. Lourdes is on a bit of a streak themselves with it being over a month since their last loss. The Knights have spent the past two years playing in the state championship game coming home with runner-up trophies, with their 2016 team actually losing to Howards Grove in the finals. Seniors Rachel Aasby and Morgan Thiel lead the way from the outside and libero. Lourdes also has Juniors Claire Chier and Raechel Russo who were on that state runner up team as Freshmen.
Waterloo (27-11) vs. Lake Country Lutheran (34-11)
There really isn’t a whole lot to say about this matchup, or maybe there is just too much. Two teams who play rugged schedules and have had some epic battles at the state tournament are now playing in the sectional semifinal. Last year Lake Country Lutheran came out on top in five sets in the semifinal on the way to winning a state title.
Division 4
Washburn (19-5) vs. Mercer (32-5)
These two teams are more than just picturesque places to visit with Washburn being right on the shore of Lake Superior and Mercer just being minutes from the UP border surrounded by State Parks, Lakes, and Bogs (I’ll always be a science geek at heart, I couldn’t resist). Washburn was the last defeat that Mercer had which was back on September 24. Mercer is led by 5’11, Junior Aubrey Schoeneman, who has 445 kills on the season and can do a little bit of everything (if you are a college coach reading this you might want to get a hold of this hidden gem from Up North!). The winner of this match will face Clayton or Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran.