WIAA State Tournament Recap: Division 1

Here is a quick recap of the 2017 WIAA Division 1 State Tournament held at the Resch Center in Green Bay. <h2>Quarterfinals</h2> River Falls 3 Kimberly 0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-10) River Falls came into the state tournament with a 41-0 record, but did not play any of the current teams at the Division 1 state tournament. With the unfamiliarity and a balance of weapons at all positions, the Wildcats made quick work of Kimberly getting them out of system. Marissa Stockman and Halie Olson led the way for River Falls with 10 kills each. Maggie Cartwright, an Arkansas recruit for Kimberly, led the team with 11 kills. Oconomowoc 3 Waunakee 0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-22) The Oconomowoc firepower and defense was just too much for Waunakee. Katy Kluge led the Raccoons with 10 kills and Taylor Alden had 27 kills and 8 assists. Waunakee came in with a powerful offense and 44 wins, but were held to a .029 hitting efficiency. Oconomowoc was also very solid on defense with three players in double digit digs and out blocking the Warriors 7-2. DSHA 3 Greendale 2 (25-18, 25-27, 21-25, 25-17, 15-11) [caption id="attachment_9051" align="alignright" width="315"]<a href="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/PrepDigDSHA.jpg"></a> DSHA defeats Greendale in five sets to advance to the semifinals.[/caption] One of the most exciting matches of the quarterfinals between two teams that have been familiar to the state tournament,with DSHA making its fourth straight trip and Greendale making its third straight tournament, but losing in the quarters the past two years. Despite being up 2-1, the Panthers could not close out the Dashers. Grace Novotny led the Dashers with 25 digs while Hayley Multerer had 13 kills on a .440 hitting percentage. Kayce Lietzau, who was playing in her third state tournament for Greendale led all players with 42 assists and added 9 kills. Jessica Grabowski had 28 digs for the Panthers as well. Burlington 3 Mukwanago 0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-19) Despite the youth on the Burlington’s roster, it was filled with plenty of state tournament experience. The Demons youth prevailed and tenacious defense over a Mukwanago team that possessed plenty of firepower from the outside. Freshman, Samantha Naber had 20 digs for the Demons followed by Maddie Berezowitz with 19 digs. Abby Koenen led Burlington with 11 kills, while Camryn Lukenbill had 8 kills hitting .500. Erin Powers and Alayna Jansky led Mukwanago in double digit kills with 12 and 10, respectively.   <h2>Semifinals</h2> River Falls 3 Oconomowoc 1 (26-24, 25-22, 22-25, 25-19) [caption id="attachment_9052" align="alignright" width="369"]<a href="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/PrepDigRiverFalls.jpg"></a> River Falls defeats Oconomowoc in four sets to advance to the state championship, their best finish in school history.[/caption] River Falls was coming into this match with a 42-0 record, but may be considered an underdog to spectators with Oconomowoc being the number 1 ranked team in the state. At this point in the tournament, statistics will be splitting hairs, but River Falls outdug Oconomowoc and was able to assert itself in the middle with Marissa Stockman getting 17 kills on .400 hitting efficiency and Izzy Barr dishing out 48 assists. Taylor Alden’s double-double with 10 kills and 37 assists was not enough for the Raccoons, who made their second state semifinal appearance in three years.   Burlington 3 DSHA 1 (25-23, 16-25, 25-16, 25-16) These two teams are all too familiar with each other with their athletes playing some similar club teams, and seeing each other at tournaments during the regular season. UW-Milwaukee recruit, Abby Koenen was on fire as was the other outside hitter, Brooklyn VandeHei led the team with 19 and 16 kills. The youth of Burlington was also a force with Sophomore, Kaley Blake had 42 assists with 12 digs and Freshman standout libero, Samantha Naber had 23 digs.   <h2>Championship</h2> Burlington 3 River Falls 2 (25-20, 25-15, 22-25, 17-25, 15-13) To say volleyball is a game of momentum is quite cliche, anyone reading this article has heard that saying before. However, this match provided with many momentum swings with Burlington taking the first two sets, followed by River Falls taking set three and four. The 5th set did not disappoint, with Burlington taking the title after a runner-up finish in 2016 to Neenah. Seniors were key for both teams. Abby Koenen led Burlington with a game high 26 kills, hitting .367. River Falls was led by Marissa Stockman’s 19 kills, hitting .536 while Izzy Barr led all players with 54 assists. River Falls finished 43-1, their best finish in school history. Burlington took home its first title since repeating in 2012. [caption id="attachment_9053" align="alignnone" width="351"]<a href="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/PrepDigMKEJS.jpg"></a> Burlington celebrates their 2017 state championship.[/caption]   <h2>All Tournament Team</h2> Kaley Blake So. S Burlington Abby Koenen Sr. OH Burlington Brooklyn VandeHei Sr. OH Burlington Izzy Barr Sr. S River Falls Marissa Stockman Sr. MH River Falls Haley Multerer Sr. MH D.S.H.A. Katy Kluge Sr. OH Oconomowoc Annie Pulizos Sr. MH Greendale Maggie Cartwright Jr. OH Kimberly Mackenzie Vertz Sr. S Mukwonago Milla Malik So. OH Waunakee