First Round Upsets In Division 2
Sectional 1 – #5 Northland Pines defeats #4 Antigo 25-22, 25-11, 25-19 On September 6th Northland Pines lost in 4 sets to Antigo and then redeemed themselves beating Antigo in 5 sets exactly 1 month later. Antigo still managed to get a…
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Continue ReadingSectional 1 –
#5 Northland Pines defeats #4 Antigo
25-22, 25-11, 25-19
On September 6th Northland Pines lost in 4 sets to Antigo and then redeemed themselves beating Antigo in 5 sets exactly 1 month later. Antigo still managed to get a higher seed, but Northland Pines decided to set the record straight. Northland wasted no time taking this match in 3.
The Eagles’ next regional match will be at the #1 seed Merrill. They have not played each other at all this season, but Merrill has had much more success against common opponents. Northland Pines will be heavily dependent on Jacqueline Smith Jacqueline Smith 5'11" | OH Northland Piines | 2020 State WI (2020 – 5’11 – Outside Hitter/Defensive Specialist) and Lauren Grosskopf (2019 – Setter/Defensive Specialist). Merrill, however, has a variety of weapons, including the powerful offense by Kelly Page Kelly Page 5'5" | S Merrill | 2021 State WI (2021 – 5’5 – Setter) and the heavy swinging Megan Schroder Megan Schroder 5'11" | OH Merrill | 2019 State WI (2019 – 5’11 – Outside Hitter). Their defense is hard to beat with the likes of Reese Mrachek Reese Mrachek Merrill | 2020 State WI (2020 – 5’10 – Middle Blocker) and the tenacious Kelsie Belfiori Kelsie Belfiori 5'5" | DS/L Merrill | 2019 State WI (2019 – 5’5 – Libero/Defensive Specialist).
#6 Tomahawk defeats #3 Medford
19-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-11
These teams have played one another more than enough times this season. My college coaches always used to say, “It’s really tough to beat a team 3 times”. In this case, Medford beat Tomahawk 9 straight sets before the Hatchets said, “Enough!”
Tomahawk will face # 2 seed Mosinee on Thursday. Mosinee took down Tomahawk twice in September, but after seeing what Tomahawk did to Medford… I would say that means nothing. The Hatchets’ offense is run by the crafty and smart Taylor Shilts (2019 – Setter/Right Side). Her main weapon is Mady Hanse Mady Hanse 5'8" | OH Tomahawk | 2020 State WI n (2020 – Outside Hitter), while the defense is anchored by Morgan Ernst Morgan Ernst 5'1" Tomahawk | 2020 State WI (2020 – Libero). Mosinee will start by putting the pressure on from the service line with the aggressive serving of Brooklyn Montgomery Brooklyn Montgomery 5'5" | OH Mosinee | 2021 State WI (2021 – 5’6 – Outside Hitter/Defensive Specialist). Another force at the net to be wreckened with is Aurora Krause Aurora Krause Mosinee | 2020 State WI (2020 – 5’10 – Middle Blocker/Right Side).
#5 Sparta defeats #4 La Crosse Logan
25-20, 27-25, 18-25, 25-23
Sparta has seen La Crosse Logan before. The very first match of the season Sparta lost to Logan in a 5-set battle. In mid-September they had another crack at them and lost in 4. Third time is the charm, and lucky for Sparta, it was in the playoffs!
Nadia Nielson (2020 – Outside Hitter/Middle Blocker) led the Spartans with 11 kills. Nielson hit some good shots inside and over the block, as well as a hard line shot. I knew Katelyn Humphrey (2020 – 5’1 – Setter) was a strong server, but she is officially a CLUTCH server. Humphrey recorded a career high 7 aces in this match and play like that can make or break a match. Sparta will take on the #1 seed West Salem on Thursday.
Sectional 3-
#10 Campbellsport defeats #7 Edgerton
25-15, 25-14, 25-19
It’s hard to seed teams that haven’t played one another, but Campbellsport came to make a statement – and mission accomplished. Their next challenge will be #2 Lakeside Lutheran. Lakeside Lutheran is led by Kylee Gnabasik Kylee Gnabasik DS/L State WI (2021 – 5’3 – Defensive Specialist/Setter), who is a threat from the service line, as well as a strong defender. While Gnabasik runs the defense, Grace Westrate Grace Westrate DS/L Lakeside Lutheran | 2020 State WI (2020 – 5’9 – Setter) runs an effective offense. Campbellsport’s defense is anchored by Evonna Engel (2019 – 5’3 – Setter/Defensive Specialist/Libero), who averages almost 5 digs per match.
Sectional 4-
#9 Brown Deer defeats #8 Milwaukee School of Languages
25-17, 25-12, 25-15
These two teams definitely should have flip-flopped seeds because this was a pretty dominant win for Brown Deer. Brown Deer will have the unfortunate task of taking on #1 seed Kettle Moraine Lutheran (KML) next. KML is powered by the offense run by Carissa Egelseer (2019 – Setter) and her weapons of Ari Miller(2019 – Committed to UW-Milwaukee) and Elle Truckenbrod Elle Truckenbrod 5'9" | OH Kettle Moraine Lutheran | 2021 State WI (2021 – 5’9 – Outside Hitter).