Senior Soundoff PART 2: Coaches Give Final Shout Out To Opposing Seniors

<p><span style="font-weight: 400">The past couple months are something that we could have never really fathomed.  New terms such as “social distancing”, “flatten the curve”, and too many times where I had to Google the difference “cancelled” and “canceled” (I still can’t explain it). What won’t be doing is honoring the Class of 2020 in Wisconsin, one part at a time.  Today we have coaches talking about Seniors….from the other side of the net.  There is a respect that coaches develop for athletes on the other side of the net.  For some, it will be odd to face that team and not have that particular athlete to scheme against.  For some of these athletes they were making an impact as these 14 year old Freshmen just starting high school, now they will be heading off to college while some will play volleyball, others just focusing on their academics.  Either way, they have made a definitely impact on the Wisconsin volleyball landscape. </span></p> <div><strong><strong>Taylor Edmonds, Head Coach at Hartford Union on [player_tooltip player_id="80163" first="Alyse" last="Drifka"] of Slinger</strong></strong> [caption id="attachment_92473" align="alignright" width="422"] Drifka[/caption] </div> <div> </div> <div>"I have had the pleasure of being across the net from [player_tooltip player_id="80163" first="Alyse" last="Drifka"] for the past 3 years. I’ve loved watching her compete, but enjoyed it more when she was not competing against us. Our game plan prior to playing Slinger every year was always focused on her and keeping them out of system as much as possible. She is a phenomenal setter in terms of her skill set, and her leadership and consistency made it difficult for teams competing against her. Thank you Alyse for the competitiveness and high level of sportsmanship you brought to our Hartford/Slinger rivalry and our conference. You will be missed in the NSC, and I wish you the best as you take the leap to collegiate volleyball at SIUE!"</div> <div> </div> <p><strong>Deb Allaman-Johnson, Head Coach of Grantsburg on Sidney Hoverman from St. Croix Falls and [player_tooltip player_id="80178" first="Kameri" last="Meredith"] of Colfax. </strong></p> <p>"Sidney Hoverman from St. Croix Falls was a formidable opponent with a booming swing. SCF is well-coached and always has great depth with multiple weapons, but for three straight years, we knew we had to stop Sidney to have a chance to win. Actually, there was no stopping her, so "mitigate" was the goal. We knew she’d find a way to get her kills, so we just wanted to block and dig her a couple of times to increase our chances. Best wishes to her as she continues her career in college."</p> <div>"[player_tooltip player_id="80178" first="Kameri" last="Meredith"] of Colfax is a tremendous athlete. We faced her at invites and in state play-offs most years. She is a four-year varsity starter and award winner that commanded the respect of her teammates and competitors. She was a three-sport star and was clearly the "go-to-girl" and leader on her court. She is quick, powerful, smart, and has really great sportsmanship."</div> <div> </div> <div><strong><strong>Ben Alexander-Wolf, Head Coach of Notre Dame Academy on [player_tooltip player_id="33378" first="Bekah" last="Day"] of Luxemburg-Casco</strong></strong> [caption id="attachment_90458" align="alignright" width="404"] Day[/caption] </div> <div> </div> <div>"Watching Bekah grow as a player through the LC volleyball program has been fun to watch. Her grit and determination to succeed drove all of those around her. Running one of the most efficient offenses in the state each of the last two years shows the talent and leadership qualities Bekah possesses. She was not only a tremendous player on the court but an equally amazing person off the court as well. Stevens Point is going to be very lucky to have a player like Bekah next fall.</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Justin Jacobs, Head Coach at Mosinee on Emma Jaje of Antigo</strong></div> <div> </div> <div>"Emma Jaje has been a stud in the backrow for Antigo the last few years.  Antigo has always been tough defensively and she manages to stand out.  She covers as much ground as anybody in the state and is always willing to sacrifice her body to make the tough plays.  She is so tough to game plan for because she reads the court so well.  Even when we hit the gaps in the defense, she seems to find a way to keep them in system.  I have always been impressed how complimentary she is to our players after matches.  She is so in tune with the game and can always recognize and appreciate great play on both sides of the net.  It’s been a pleasure watching her play the last few years and I wish her the best going forward"</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Jeff Frey, Head Coach at Luxemburg-Casco on Katie Joten of Little Chute</strong></div> <div> </div> <div>Over the last few years Little Chute has developed into our biggest conference rival and we have battled Katie and her teams in conference play and deep in the playoffs.  She has been the backbone of their defense for the past three years.  She plays with passion and excitement.  Her leadership was never on better display then this past year when she willed a young Little Chute team to a Regional Championship and within one game of 3rd straight Sectional Final.  She is such a fun player to watch and will be missed in our conference and I wish her nothing but the best going forward, no doubt she will be successful wherever she goes.</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Steve Scheuerell, Head Coach at Appleton North on [player_tooltip player_id="80173" first="Kalli" last="Mau"] of Kimberly </strong></div> <div> </div> <div> <div class="gs"> <div class=""> <div id=":2zm" class="ii gt"> <div id=":2zl" class="a3s aXjCH "> <div dir="ltr"> <div>I have watched Kalli go from a shy, quiet young athlete to a confident, strong setter.  I coached her in club at age 14 and played against her the past four years!  She played for one of our biggest conference rivals, Kimberly High School.  I have watched her do things over the past four years that I sometimes did not think she would be able to do because she is one of the biggest competitors I have met!  You would never be able to tell it from her very calm demeanor, but she wants to win more than anyone.  It has been heartbreaking to play her at times, knocking us off in the Sectional Final two of the last three years, but also so satisfying to watch a young girl achieve all of her goals and have success.  I can’t wait to see her continue to succeed at Belleamine University next Fall!</div> </div> </div> <div></div> <div id=":2zl" class="a3s aXjCH "> <div class="yj6qo"> </div> <div class="adL"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hi"> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div> </div>