Stratford Makes Statement With Sweep of Newman
Lauryn Nagel Stratford entered last Tuesday night’s match undefeated and looking to avenge their only conference loss last year. Stratford had already defeated Columbus Catholic (#10 in D4), Mosinee (#9 in D2), and Prentice (#6 in D4). Stratford made it to the…
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Continue ReadingStratford entered last Tuesday night’s match undefeated and looking to avenge their only conference loss last year. Stratford had already defeated Columbus Catholic (#10 in D4), Mosinee (#9 in D2), and Prentice (#6 in D4). Stratford made it to the Division 3 state semi-finals in 2017 and graduated a pair of defenders, as well as their starting middle, but the core is still there in a strong class of 2019.
Newman, on the other hand, plays a tougher schedule, having already faced Merrill (#8 in D2), SPASH (#20 in D1), Columbus Catholic (#10 in D4), Aquinas (#2 in D3), and Regis (#4 in D3). The Cardinals made it into the Division 4 state championship match in 2017 and took their first state tournament loss since 2012. Newman has also graduated 2 Division 1 collegiate recruits the last 2 years in 2017’s Mariah Whalen (Wisconsin) and 2018’s Riley Vaughn (UW-Milwaukee).
#13 Linnea SvennesThis was set to be a battle. Division 3 #1 Stratford improved to 27-0 on the season with a hard fought 25-18, 25-23, 25-21 sweep of Division 4 #2 Newman Catholic, dropping the Cardinals to 20-7 on the year. The Tigers recorded 11 aces on the night, and Lauryn Nagel (2021 – Middle Blocker) had a career high 7 aces with her aggressive serving style. Stratford and Newman were back and forth all night long, but the difference came down to Stratford’s strong serving and Newman’s uncharacteristic hitting errors.
Mazie Nagel (2019 – 5’10 – Outside Hitter) led the Tigers with 12 kills. She hits a nice line shot from either pin and did a nice job of bettering the ball and making adjustments after Newman shut down attempts with a big block. Linnea Svennes (2020 – Middle Blocker) makes such an impact at the net for Newman. She puts up a big block and recorded a season high 6 blocks. Svennes has shown considerable growth from the 2017 season as an attacker, with her ability to find the corners, reach high, swing fast, and seeing the blocker in front of her to work around them.
Grace EndeIf the ball makes it past Svennes and the Cardinals front line, their defense made some clutch plays to keep them alive. Grace Ende (2019 – Libero) anchors the defense by making nice defensive moves, getting good touches, and being dedicated to protecting the corners. Ende led the Cards with 11 digs.
One of the Tiger’s setters, Jadyn Dahlke (2019 – Setter/Right Side), presents a strong serve and finds the split in the block when taking swings, but she is also really good mixing up her set selection and yet knowing just when to feed Mazie Nagel. Dahlke led her team with 17 assists for the night. Both teams had so many weapons; I can’t wait to see what they can do in the post season.