5 Intriguing WIAA Saturday Night Regional Matches
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Tournament time is here and the state has already seen upsets in regional play that have thrown a few curveballs for teams on the “Road to the Resch”. Saturday will be the regional finals with sectional play next Thursday and…
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Continue ReadingTournament time is here and the state has already seen upsets in regional play that have thrown a few curveballs for teams on the “Road to the Resch”. Saturday will be the regional finals with sectional play next Thursday and the sectional finals with trips to the state tournament on the line next Saturday. Here are five intriguing matchups that will be close to call with these teams having plenty of familiarity heading into Saturday night.
Catholic Memorial vs. Kettle Moraine Lutheran
This side of the section in Division 2 is loaded with Pewaukee, Catholic Memorial, and Kettle Moraine Lutheran. For CMH and KML, they’ve had a season of peaks and valleys, fighting through some injuries, some big wins, and hope for a big postseason run. Catholic Memorial has played a gauntlet of a schedule that has included top teams in Wisconsin and the Chicagoland. They will be lead by Emily Clausen Emily Clausen 6'0" | MB Catholic Memorial | 2023 State WI who has over 300 kills on the season. The Crusaders also have two top notch setters in Lily Lutz Lily Lutz S Catholic Memorial | 2022 State WI (Committed to Belmont) and Elena Dragani Elena Dragani S Catholic Memorial | 2023 State WI . KML has won 10 of their past 11 matches which includes a final four finish at the Sprawl, one of the top tournaments in the state. Outside hitter and recent Concordia-Wisconsin commit, Stella Zarling Stella Zarling 5'9" | OH Kettle Moraine Lutheran | 2022 State WI has been the top attacker for the Chargers all season with over 200 kills. However, a huge spark for this team has been the return of middle blocker Emily Honzelka Emily Honzelka 6'3" | MB Kettle Moraine Lutheran | 2023 State WI , one of the top middles in the Class of 2023. Honzelka was out the first part of the season with an injury, but has returned to the lineup making an instant impact.
Freedom vs. Fox Valley Lutheran
Teams out of the Fox Valley/Appleton area all know each other all too well. Freedom knocked off three seed Xavier out of Appleton last night and will meet up against their conference rival Fox Valley Lutheran out of Appleton. Freedom High School and FVL are separated by seven miles. FVL has five attackers with over 100 kills on the season and has one of the top liberos in the area in Junior, Kennedy Schmitz Kennedy Schmitz 5'2" | DS/L Fox Valley Lutheran | 2023 State WI . Freedom has racked up 25 wins on the season, and has two losses to FVL on the season. The Irish are led by two Juniors in Sydney Bartels Sydney Bartels 5'11" | OH Freedom | 2023 State WI , a springy, athletic middle who can score points in multiple ways and Rachel Koss Rachel Koss 5'11" | S Freedom | 2023 State WI . Koss sets and swings, with a high IQ. Schmitz, Bartels, and Koss all played on the same FC Elite 16 Navy team this past club season.
Lake Mills vs. Edgewood
Another two programs have plenty of common opponents, but have yet to play against each other this season. Edgewood is the higher seed and “favorite”, but Lake Mills has plenty of talent on their side and knows what its like to play against top competition. Edgewood has plenty of size and power where they are led by three division one recruits in Ally Barth Ally Barth 6'0" | MB Edgewood | 2022 State WI (North Dakota State), Natalie Ring Natalie Ring 6'1" | OH Edgewood | 2022 State #177 Nation WI (Marquette), and Addison Schmotzer Addison Schmotzer 6'2" | MB Edgewood | 2023 State WI (St. Thomas). Lake Mills will rely heavily on setter Sydney Lewellin Sydney Lewellin S Lake Mills | 2022 State WI who has over 600 assists and nearly 100 kills on the season. Kaitlin Borchert Kaitlin Borchert 5'10" | OH Lake Mills | 2022 State WI and Ava Belling are the two top attackers where they have combined for just under 600 kills on the season.
Cedarburg vs. Brookfield Central
The D1 – Section 5 group is always the deepest in the state with multiple teams ranked in the top ten. Cedarburg is coming into the match as the champions of the North Shore Conference and has picked up some big wins throughout the year. The Bulldogs are 1-2 against Brookfield Central this year. Aspen Jankowski Aspen Jankowski 5'10" | OH Cedarburg | 2022 State WI does it all for Cedarburg where she has 380 kills on the year and is one of their top passers as well. Jae Fitting Jae Fitting 5'8" | DS/L Cedarburg | 2024 State WI is a top sophomore to watch for this team with nearly 400 digs on the season as their libero. Brookfield Central could be finding their stride at just the right time. The Lancers are back to full strength after spending part of their season without Minnesota commit, Mckenna Wucherer Mckenna Wucherer 6'1" | OH Brookfield Central | 2022 State #1 Nation WI who was playing with the U18 USA Youth National Team at the FIVB World Championships in Mexico. Morgan Daughtery, a Marquette commit, is a dominant middle blocker and a big time floor leader.
Randolph vs. Waterloo
Another section with multiple teams ranked in the top ten. Waterloo has the two seed and is listed as Honorable Mention in the rankings while Randolph is 35-7 and currently ranked 7th. Waterloo has athletes with plenty of state tournament appearances, led by Rylee Duessler Rylee Duessler 5'9" | OH Waterloo | 2023 State WI and Sophia Schneider Sophia Schneider 5'10" | S Waterloo | 2023 State WI with over 500 combined kills and senior libero Michaela Riege Michaela Riege 5'7" | DS/L Waterloo | 2022 State WI with over 300 digs. Randolph defeated Waterloo 2-0 a week ago in a tournament. The Rockets have two powerful outsides in Carizma Muth Carizma Muth 5'10" | OH Randolph | 2023 State WI and Cassandra Alsum Cassandra Alsum 5'9" | OH Randolph | 2022 State WI . This match has the makings of a long, five set battle with powerful play from attackers and athletes who can keep the ball off the floor.