Woodland Conference Tournament Preview
The Woodland Conference has quite the number of talented teams who will be battling for the title of conference champion this Saturday. There are fourteen teams in the conference and play has been competitive throughout the season. Pewaukee, Greendale, Wisconsin…
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Continue ReadingThe Woodland Conference has quite the number of talented teams who will be battling for the title of conference champion this Saturday. There are fourteen teams in the conference and play has been competitive throughout the season.
Pewaukee, Greendale, Wisconsin Lutheran, and Whitnall will all be vying for the top spots in the tournament. The conference is split into two halves: west and east. Teams play each of the schools in their half of the conference, and then, based on their record, play two crossover matches with the other half of the conference.
Pewaukee, Greendale, and Wisconsin Lutheran are all on the west side of the conference while Whitnall is on the east. Whitnall was undefeated in Woodland East conference play, only dropping one set throughout their conference matchups. In crossover matches, Whitnall swept Pewaukee but Wisconsin Lutheran beat Whitnall in straight sets. Whitnall has really come onto the volleyball radar in the last few years and continues to have strong teams.
Junior outside hitter Erin Sabinash leads the teams in kills for the season with 52 so far. She has also contributed 7 aces, 77 digs, and 127 service receptions. Setters Lilli Pincsak (Class of 2023) and Jae Thompson (Class of 2021) are leaders on the court and have been key in developing their offense this season.
Pewaukee went undefeated in conference play winning tough matches along the way. Junior outside hitter Jordan Berglin (Prep Dig Rank #17) and fellow classmate and middle hitter Elsa Shepherd (Prep Dig Rank #47) are long-time varsity athletes providing power and consistency in the back row. Setters Hailey Boelter-Eberhardt (Prep Dig Rank #73), Maria Opie, and Katie Gund (Prep Dig Rank #35) all bring unique gameplay to the court and are keys in the versatile Pewaukee offense.
Though Greendale lost some key seniors with the class of 2019, they have still managed to have a fairly successful season and have grown enormously throughout the last few months. The current senior class has proven they are a force to be reckoned with. Right side hitter Angela Rinelli has 199 kills, 25 aces, 45 blocks, and 109 digs. Pin hitter Chloe Wolf has had 196 kills, 39 aces, and 266 digs so far this season. Middle hitter Sarah Mattes (Prep Dig Rank #41) follows with 188 kills and 64 blocks. Setter Madey Mochalski has had over 600 assists this season bringing her career total to 1,269! This team will battle for wins at the conference tournament on Saturday.
Wisconsin Lutheran is one of the teams to beat right now. They have a solid all-around team and only took one loss in conference play which was to Pewaukee. Senior outside hitter Julia Treichel (Prep Dig Rank #23, Committed to SIU-Edwardsville) has clocked in 288 kills, 295 digs, and 46 aces. She is a key component of this powerhouse team. Junior middle hitter Natalie Tesch (Prep Dig Rank #19) has been nearly unstoppable in the front row contributing 223 kills and 45 blocks so far this season. Junior Emma Baacke has defended the backcourt relentlessly with 225 digs and 288 service receptions. Leading it all is senior setter Hannah Denk who on top of having 461 assists has also contributed 157 digs, 30 blocks, 32 aces, and 84 kills.
Ultimately, I think Pewaukee and Wisconsin Lutheran will end up battling for the conference title, but Greendale and Whitnall will definitely have their chance to prove their worth. It should be a great overall day of volleyball with some of the top programs in the state working hard to bring in some wins and fine-tune small details before the road to the state tournament starts next week.