Observations Into The Wisconsin Valley Conference
Conference play has officially wrapped up, but before we jump headfirst into the post-season, I want to talk about a few observations of the Wisconsin Valley Conference (WVC) this season. I was lucky to get to see quite a few of…
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Continue ReadingConference play has officially wrapped up, but before we jump headfirst into the post-season, I want to talk about a few observations of the Wisconsin Valley Conference (WVC) this season. I was lucky to get to see quite a few of the fun WVC matches this season. The conference graduated 19 from the 2018 All-Conference Teams, so there were a lot of opportunities for fresh faces and a lot of question marks in the pre-season. The 7-team conference will all be battling to make it out of Division 1, Sectional 1.
Down To The Wire: Marshfield, Merrill, SPASH, and Wausau West all went into Thursday, October 17th matches fighting for their spots in the final WVC standings. SPASH defeated Merrill (25-21, 26-24, 27-25) to claim the #1 spot and put Merrill finishing as #2. The Blue Jays have a roster with plenty of talent led by Reese Mrachek Reese Mrachek Merrill | 2020 State WI (2020 – 5’9 – Middle Blocker) and Eve Akey Eve Akey 5'7" | MB Merrill | 2020 State WI (2020 – 5’6 – Outside Hitter), but what really makes or breaks this team is their passing and backcourt defense of libero, Rachel Travis Rachel Travis 5'3" | OH Merrill | 2021 State WI (2021 – 5’5), six rotation outside Kelly Page Kelly Page 5'5" | S Merrill | 2021 State WI (2021 – 5’5), and setter, Ellie Hartson (2020 – 5’9) who combined for over 1,000 digs this season.
[player_tooltip player_id="80733" first="Robyn" last="Kirsch"]Meanwhile, Marshfield stunned Wausau West (17-25, 25-19, 25-19, 27-25) to take 3rd and knock West to a 4th place conference finish. Wausau West is extremely athletic and physical starting with outside hitter Robyn Kirsch Robyn Kirsch 5'7" | OH Wausau West | 2021 State WI (2021 – 5’6) and setter, Grace Michalske (2021 – 5’7). Wausau West took set 1 from Marshfield in a commanding fashion. After that, it was all Tigers, but not without a huge fight.
Gains: With the loss of so many seniors in the conference, there were a lot of uncertainties with how this conference would shake out. Three teams landed at a higher placing than in 2018. Merrill made a jump from 3rd to 2nd place, Marshfield went from 4th to 3rd, and Wausau East took a step up from 6th to 5th.
Marshfield improved each time I saw them, which means they should be peaking at the right time of the season. Libero Katie Sadowska (2020 – Libero) gets a ton of touches to stay in system. There are also great connections happening on offense between Taylor Barwick (2021) setting to outside hitter Lindsey Steffen Lindsey Steffen 5'10" Marshfield | 2020 State WI (2020). Wausau East’s Taylor Pagel Taylor Pagel 6'0" | MB Wausau East | 2020 State WI (2020 – Winona Commit) is the total package, being as equally lethal from the middle as she is from either pin with the size, swing speed, and a quick snap. East is probably more dangerous out of system with a couple big swings on the outside team.
[player_tooltip player_id="80182" first="Maddy" last="Dokken"]Panther Power: This wasn’t an easy conference win for SPASH, and I believe that makes it feel even better! With one player already committed to play at the next level, Maddy Dokken Maddy Dokken 5'10" | OH SPASH | 2020 State WI (2020 – 5’10 – Outside Hitter – UW-Parkside) who is a six-rotation outside, everyone else is still looking for their next gym to call home, and they play high level volleyball with solid defense, serve-receive, and tricky shots. SPASH had to really dig deep to win in very tight sets against Merrill. Impeccable serving by Olivia Stroik Olivia Stroik 5'7" | MB SPASH | 2020 State WI (2020- 5’6 – Outside Hitter) and blocking from Amahra Matthai (2021 – 6’0 – Middle Blocker) helped propel the Panthers to their final conference win of the season.
Up-And-Comers: There aren’t many underclassmen that can come into the WVC and turn heads. Makenzie Gale (2022 – Wausau East) caught my attention right away with a high contact point and fast swing in the split. She had a career high 15 kills against Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln in September on her way to recording 165 kills so far this season. Gale also averages 1 ace every 2 sets so far this season, making her lethal from the service line as well. D.C. Everest has a pair of young setters that run a 6-2. Brenna Lehrke (2022 – 5’5) and Kiara Hammond (2022 – 5’8) have combined for almost 500 assists. Lehrke takes a nasty lefty swing from the right side and is super scrappy on defense. You will hear these names for a long time.
[player_tooltip player_id="80826" first="Abby" last="Duffrin"]Playoff Matchups: Merrill and D.C Everest will face off in Regionals. The last time they went head to head, Merrill looked extremely strong behind the play of Kelly Page Kelly Page 5'5" | S Merrill | 2021 State WI who was scoring and defending in all six rotations, but the Evergreens have libero Abby Duffrin Abby Duffrin DS/L DC Everest | 2021 State WI (2021 – 5’5) who has been solid in the backrow.
SPASH will take on Wisconsin Rapids in their regional. Morgan Elliott (2020 – Middle Blocker) and Azalea Clendenning (2021 – Right Side Hitter) do a little bit of everything for Rapids, from blocking to hitting and serving up aces, and libero Hayley Wagner Hayley Wagner 5'6" | DS/L Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln | 2022 State WI (2022) is all over the court.
Another WVC rematch that looks fun to see is Wausau East and Marshfield. This will be a battle between Pagel (East) and Steffen (Marshfield). Grace Stimac (2020 – Middle Blocker) leads the East squad by finding multiple ways to score points: as a strong block and as a leader with her body language and energy on the court. Setter Kendra Behnke is a senior who is deadly from the service line and keeps the offense running smoothly. They have each taken a match in their last 2 meetings, so this should be a fun one!