Division 2: Who Won Big in the First Round of Regionals Tuesday Night?

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For many teams, Tuesday night was the start of the playoffs. And there were truly some great matches that were played! From stunning 5 game battles to impressive sweeps, here are some teams to watch going into Thursday’s regional finals. </span></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Martin Luther Defeated Eisenhower in 5 Tight Sets</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Martin Luther had quite the season under new head coach Haley Naber. They struggled in conference play but excelled in tournaments. Many of their matches went to 5 sets but the Lady Spartans just couldn’t string points together to bring in the wins. That was not the case on Tuesday night. It seemed as if the team had some new life. Junior middle <strong>Sydney Burris</strong> has been a force to be reckoned with lately and currently leads the team in kills. Senior libero <strong>Ella Wolske</strong> defended the backcourt fiercely on Tuesday night</span></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thomas More Demolished Audobon</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thomas More has had a successful season. A few years ago the program did a reboot and their young team is now upperclassmen making them quite the powerhouse. The team plays as a cohesive unit and knows how to bring in wins. They weren’t messing around on Tuesday night when they swept Audobon 25-6, 25-10, 25-2. Junior <strong>Melanie Monaco</strong> leads the team in both kills and aces for the season. Fellow junior <strong>Josie D’Amato</strong> has almost 500 assists while <strong>Katie Hoch</strong> has contributed 425 service receptions and 235 digs. Thomas More will face off against Pius XI tomorrow night at home. </span></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whitnall Continues Strong Season </span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not much has been said about Whitnall this season, but maybe more should have been. They have a 23-13 record and went undefeated in conference play. On Tuesday night the Falcons swept St. Anthony in amazing fashion with the following scores: 25-1, 25-9, 25-3. Sophomore <strong>Erin Sabinash</strong> leads the team in overall kills. Sophomore setter <strong>Lilly Lutz</strong> is the team leader in both aces (58) and assists (348). Next up on Whitnall’s docket is New Berlin West who kept their Tuesday night opponent, Saint Francis under 15 points each set. </span></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">University School of Milwaukee Took Out Milwaukee Marshall</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">USM came out serving on Tuesday night. That’s right, serving. In fact, they have very few other stats as most of their points were aces. Junior <strong>Adianne DePoy</strong> had a ridiculous 14 aces closely followed by classmate <strong>Lily Steinbach</strong> who had 12. Overall the Wildcats had an unprecedented 41 aces during the match. Lily and senior <strong>Chyna Bacchus</strong> each had 6 kills on 6 attempts giving them a perfect hitting percentage and making them the kill leaders for the match. </span></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Grafton High School Keeps Messmer Under 10 Points Each Set</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Grafton has had a solid season. They went 4-5 in conference and have an overall record of 27-14 on the season. They have a dynamic team with stats leaders spread out across many athletes. Junior <strong>Neala Luedtke</strong> leads the team with over 250 kills and service receptions. Senior <strong>Selena Esparza</strong> has 832 digs this season alone and almost 1,200 digs throughout her 4-year varsity volleyball career. Junior setter <strong>Josephine Gust</strong> had 664 assists going into Tuesday’s match. The Black Hawks hope to keep their postseason going as they face off against Sheboygan Falls at home on Thursday night.</span></p> <p>We all love volleyball playoffs! Now let's see who can continue their season all the way into sectionals and the state tournament!</p>