Classic Eight Conference Preview – Part 2

<p><strong><u>Don’t Count Them Out</u></strong></p> <p>We’ve already covered Arrowhead, Mukwonago, and Waukesha West, but there are some other contenders.  The Classic Eight is tough, so don’t overlook any of these teams.</p> <p><strong><u>KETTLE MORAINE:</u></strong></p> <p>Kettle Moraine went 3-5 in conference last season with wins against Waukesha North, Waukesha South, and Muskegon.  They finished with a 23-17 record and ranked #55 in the state.  Kettle Moraine lost 2 seniors with one being a major contributor.</p> <p><strong>Colleen DeLisle </strong>– Setter/Right Side</p> <p>DeLisle played in a 6-2, contributing 295 assists, 222 digs, 136 kills, and 35 total blocks.</p> <p>Kettle Moraine has got a really strong crew returning to make some noise.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="33069" first="Christina" last="Roofe"] </strong>– 2019 - 6’2” – Middle Blocker</p> <p>Roofe earned 2^nd Team All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-Conference by leading her team with 225 kills and 80 total blocks</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="33294" first="Hailey" last="Grocholski"] </strong>– 2020 – Middle Blocker</p> <p>Grocholski hit an impressive .321 to earn Honorable Mention All-Conference.  Grocholski and Roofe will make a dynamic duo.</p> <p><strong>Kaleigh Fitzgerald </strong>– 2020 – Libero</p> <p>Fitzgerald was a defensive beast, and 2018 should only get better after a solid club season with Sting 16 White.  She served up 45 aces and 556 digs to earn Libero Honorable Mention All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-State honors.</p> <p><strong>OTHER NOTABLE RETURNERS:</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="80195" first="Emma" last="Braun"] </strong>– 2020 – 5’9” – Outside Hitter</p> <p><strong>Alena Hester </strong>– 2019 – Defensive Specialist</p> <p><strong>Claudia Buchholz </strong>– 2020 – 5’7” - Setter</p> <p><strong>Bri Dubrey</strong> – 2019 – Outside Hitter</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><u>CATHOLIC MEMORIAL:</u></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Catholic Memorial historically peaks at just the right time.  In 2017 they were knocked out of the Division 2 Semifinals by Lakeside Lutheran. Catholic Memorial finished #33 in the state with a 30-22 record.  The Crusaders earned a 4^th place finish in conference with losses to Mukwanago, Arrowhead, and Oconomowoc.</p> <p>Catholic Memorial lost 5 seniors including some big contributors.</p> <p><strong>Emily Mirsberger </strong>– 5’8” – Setter</p> <p>Mirsberger was a regular in the Catholic Memorial rotation and contributed 441 assists, 149 digs, and 52 aces.</p> <p><strong>Tatum Brim </strong>– 5’10” – Middle Blocker - Clark University</p> <p>Brim earned Division 2 All-State Tournament Team by tallying 228 kills, 63 total blocks, 38 digs, and 11 aces.  She will continue her playing career with Clark University.</p> <p><strong>Paiton Kujawa </strong>– 5’7” – Defensive Specialist</p> <p>Kujawa accumulated 50 aces and 321 digs to make big contributions to Catholic Memorial’s run to the Resch.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9359" first="Lauren" last="Mudlaff"] </strong>– 5’8” - Outside Hitter/Defensive Specialist</p> <p>Mudlaff contributed 232 digs, 50 aces, and 44 kills in the 2017 season.</p> <p>Catholic Memorial may have had a reloading season because they surely are set to bring back some standouts for another season.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="33061" first="Jenna" last="Weinfurt"] </strong>– 2019 – 6’0” – Outside Hitter</p> <p>Weinfurt led Catholic Memorial with 370 kills and earned 2^nd Team All-Conference honors.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="10236" first="Caroline" last="Dragani"]</strong>- 2019 – 5’10” – Right Side/Setter – Portland State</p> <p>Dragani has her next step figured out so she can focus on getting back to that Gold Ball.  Last season she was Honorable Mention All-Conference and led her team with 55 aces and 630 assists.  It will be interesting to see if they work into a 6-2 with Jessie Connell or continue to 0run a 5-1.</p> <p><strong>Carly Clausen </strong>– 2020 – 6’0” – Middle Blocker</p> <p>Clausen led the conference with 85 block assists and led her team with 96 total blocks and a .291 hitting percentage to earn Honorable Mention All-Conference in her sophomore season.  Big things to come from this player!</p> <p><strong>OTHER NOTABLE RETURNERS:</strong></p> <p><strong>Jessie Connell – </strong>2019 - 5’9” - Setter</p> <p><strong>Isabella Halcomb </strong>– 2021 - 5’5” – Outside Hitter/Defensive Specialist</p> <p><strong>Kennedy Crain – </strong>2019 - 5’8” – Outside Hitter</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><u>OCONOMOWOC:</u></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Oconomowoc took a share of the Classic Eight Conference title in 2017 with their only loss coming to Mukwonago.  They also finished their season with a loss to River Falls in the Division 1 State Semifinal.  That loss did not keep them from earning a #1 state rank from their 31-10 record against tough competition.  Unfortunately, Oconomowoc is losing a lot of key pieces from their solid 2017 season.</p> <p><strong>Katy Kluge </strong>– 5’8” – Outside Hitter – Southern Illinois</p> <p>Kluge had a solid senior campaign and it resulted in a late commitment to Southern Illinois.  She led Oconomowoc with 404 kills to earn 2017 Conference Player of the Year, Division 1 All-State Tournament Team, and the WVCA 2^nd Team All-State honors.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9278" first="Amanda" last="Garvens"] </strong>– 5’8” – Outside Hitter – UNC Greensboro</p> <p>Garvens typically plays libero for Milwaukee Sting and was recruited by UNC Greensboro for her defensive playing.  She earned 1^st Team All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-State honors after contributing 304 digs, 202 kills, 33 aces, and 22 total blocks.</p> <p><strong>Kami Eberle </strong>– 5’11” – Middle Blocker</p> <p>Eberle tallied 159 kills and 55 blocks to earn Honorable Mention All-Conference honors.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9281" first="Paige" last="Jaeger"] </strong>– 5’8” – Libero – Stonybrook</p> <p>Jaeger tallied 504 digs in 2017 to give her a career 1,061 digs from 4 seasons of contribution.  She earned 2^nd Team All-Conference Libero and will continue her playing career with Stonybrook.</p> <p>Oconomowoc is losing their dynamic defensive unit, but they still have a couple big contributors to build around.</p> <p><strong>Elle Schult </strong>– 2019 - 6’3” – Middle Blocker</p> <p>Shult earned 2^nd Team All-Conference honors after leading the conference with 106 total blocks averaging 1 block per set.  With Kluge graduated, Schultz will probably see more hitting attempts. and after hitting a .294 in 2017, that could mean good things to come in 2018!</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56002" first="Tayler" last="Alden"] </strong>– 2020 – 6’0” – Setter - Northern Iowa</p> <p>Alden led the conference with 1,153 assists to earn 1^st Team All-Conference honors.  She also led her team with 60 aces to earn 2^nd Team All-State honors.  Alden is currently at a pace to have over 4,700 career assists.</p> <p><strong>OTHER NOTABLE RETURNERS:</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="33138" first="Tessa" last="Christopherson"]</strong> – 2019 - 6’0” – Setter/Right Side</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Part 3 coming soon…</p>