A Deep Dive on D1 Sectional Pairings (1-4)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The “Road to the Resch” has been paved with sectional pairings being released for the WIAA Girls State Volleyball Tournament.&nbsp; I'll be coaching in D2 and will be staying away from any reporting of those sections, but I'll be happy to take a deep dive into D1.&nbsp; Who are the favorites?&nbsp; Who are the dark horses?&nbsp; Who is going to be playing into the second week of November.&nbsp; Let's take a look.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Section 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Four Seeds</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Hudson&nbsp;</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>River Falls</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Eau Claire Memorial&nbsp;</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Marshfield</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This section has tremendously increased the depth of talent the past few seasons.&nbsp; River Falls has traditionally been the team to run the table in Section 1, but Chippewa Falls made it to state in 2022 and this season Hudson has been the one to beat.&nbsp; Hudson won the Big Rivers Conference and has two wins over two seed, River Falls.&nbsp; The Raiders have five players with over 100 kills, led by [player_tooltip player_id='181197' first='Jana' last='Jankowski'] and [player_tooltip player_id='571376' first='Addison' last='Leach'].&nbsp; They also have one of the most dynamic players in the state in [player_tooltip player_id='285234' first='Ellie' last='Burns'] who is a setter/attacker combo players that has committed to Southeast Missouri State.&nbsp; River Falls is always one to watch where the Wildcats play a rugged schedule against top teams from Wisconsin and Minnesota.&nbsp; They are coming at the other side with two big attackers in Southwest Minnesota State commit [player_tooltip player_id='178331' first='Maddy' last='Range'] and upstart sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='511138' first='Amelie' last='Pankonin'] who have combined for over 600 kills.&nbsp; Eau Claire Memorial only has three losses the past three months coming to River Falls, Hudson, and top ranked in D5 Eau Claire Immanuel. Senior Ashlyn Schroeder leads Memorial with 376 kills on the season. Marshfield comes from the Wisconsin Valley Conference where they are currently 34-4 where their only losses in D1 are to Hudson, Eau Claire Memorial, and Bay Port.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='434267' first='Lauren' last='Homolka'] leads the Tigers in kills and blocks.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Who Could Cause Trouble?&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DC Everest, Eau Claire North, and SPASH are next in line as the 5, 6, and 7 seeds.&nbsp; River Falls came out of this regional as a six seed last year.&nbsp; DC Everest finishes their regular season tonight against SPASH which will have plenty of eyes on that heading into the postseason.&nbsp; They have two prior losses to Marshall from the regular season.&nbsp; SPASH has shown big improvement in their program going from 17-19 in 2023 to 26-9 in 2024.&nbsp; They have a freshman who is one to know in [player_tooltip player_id='522106' first='Nora' last='Kruger'] who is at 300 kills and nearly 250 digs.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Section 2&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Four Seeds</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Middleton</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Sauk Prairie</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Waunakee</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Verona</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This section could be wide open.&nbsp; I'm sure it was an interesting seeding meeting with Sauk Prairie and Waunakee being from a different conference than Middleton and Verona.&nbsp; Middleton has key wins over Sun Prairie West, Verona, Lake Country Lutheran, and La Crosse Aquinas.&nbsp; The Cardinals advanced to the state tournament in 2022 and are led by junior [player_tooltip player_id='487030' first='Sadie' last='Newcomb'] who is averaging nearly four kills per set.&nbsp; Sauk Prairie is new to D1 where they have bumped up due to their success in the WIAA Performance Factor which is new for all sports.&nbsp; They are currently 25-6, have a key victory over Edgewood which is a top D2 team, but actually lost a five setter to Waunakee on Tuesday, October 15. The Eagles are led by a high flying, electric outside in junior [player_tooltip player_id='388467' first='Mallory' last='Hartwig'] who averages over four kills per set and have experienced setter [player_tooltip player_id='178308' first='Greta' last='Shadewald'] who averages over eight assists per set and is an offensive threat as well.&nbsp; Waunakee is 22-14, playing a rugged schedule and is currently undefeated in conference play.&nbsp; The Warriors are back with plenty of new faces in their line up.&nbsp; Their top attackers are [player_tooltip player_id='345274' first='Lauren' last='Sprague'] and [player_tooltip player_id='388460' first='Kaitlin' last='Van Wie'].&nbsp; Verona brings plenty of athleticism and physicality to their frontline behind the middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='248484' first='Allison' last='Bostley'].&nbsp; She is averaging 3.4 kills per set and is hitting nearly .400 with 57 blocks on the season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Who Could Cause Trouble?&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DeForest and Holmen are next in line of this section with DeForest being 25-10 and has a 3-0 win over Sauk Prairie, a win over a ranked D2 West Salem team, and have beaten Waunakee in tournament play.&nbsp; Holmen is a scrappy team from the La Crosse area where they have racked up 20 wins this season.&nbsp; If seeding plays out, DeForest will have quite the battle against Verona if they can maintain Bostley in the middle.&nbsp; I really think Waunakee is one to watch in this section where their battle tested schedule could really pay off for them in the next few weeks.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Section 3</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Four Seeds</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Kimberly&nbsp;</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Bay Port</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Kaukauna</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Xavier</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Appleton North has won this section since 2019 and since 2014 it has been either Appleton North or Kimberly.&nbsp; Kimberly earned the top seed, but this is a very deep section with a lot of familiarity with all of these teams.&nbsp; Kimberly recently defeated Bay Port at the Neenah tournament on October 6 and have racked up key wins over Kaukauna, Menomonee Falls, Franklin, Luxemburg-Casco, KML, and Brookfield Central.&nbsp; They have a balanced attack led by Ava Van Vonderen and [player_tooltip player_id='178228' first='Ava' last='Reis'] (their libero is also [player_tooltip player_id='522949' first='Ava' last='Van Camp']).&nbsp; Bay Port is coming in as the FRCC Champions and have one of the top middle blockers in the state in Bradley commit [player_tooltip player_id='202186' first='Chloe' last='Parker'] who averages over four kills per set and has 60 total blocks.&nbsp; Kaukauna is 28-4 on the season and much of their offense runs through Bemidji State commit [player_tooltip player_id='178226' first='Madison' last='Tripp'] who can defend, set, and be offensive when called upon. Xavier is coming in as the back to back state champions of D2 and are in D1 due to the performance factor.&nbsp; They have beefed up their schedule which has included a tournament at Mother McAuley in Chicago.&nbsp; They will have a potential matchup in the regional final with crosstown rival Appleton North.&nbsp; North won the best of five matchup and Xavier defeated North most recently at the DSHA tournament.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Who Could Cause Trouble?&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Appleton North as a five is an intriguing potential matchup. If seeding plays out, they will take on Xavier at Xavier which is a really tough place to play.&nbsp; However, the Lightning do have [player_tooltip player_id='178223' first='Teegan' last='Charapata'] who is nearing 500 kills on the season.&nbsp; If they were to upset Xavier they would potentially play Kimberly on a neutral court.&nbsp; They have lost to Kimberly three times already this season and could the fourth time be the charm?&nbsp; Green Bay Southwest has put together a successful season and have two of the top players in the area with setter [player_tooltip player_id='178227' first='Alexa' last='Hernandez'] (Green Bay) and [player_tooltip player_id='178232' first='Morgan' last='Stewart'] (DePaul). Stewart is averaging an astounding 6.6 kills perset with Hernandez having nearly two kills per set as a setter.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Section 4&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Top Four Seeds</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Menomonee Falls</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Slinger</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Neenah&nbsp;</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Manitowoc Lincoln</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yikes, this section is so deep where there are going to be some interesting Regional Finals next Saturday night.  There are no bad losses for Falls and they have the head to head win against Slinger which propelled them to the top seed.  [player_tooltip player_id='275794' first='Kennedy' last='Nimmer'] is the top attacker averaging nearly four kills per set, but the defense from the Phoenix is what sets them apart with the Bruns sisters in [player_tooltip player_id='522165' first='Cassie' last='Bruns'], [player_tooltip player_id='178270' first='Ellie' last='Bruns'], and [player_tooltip player_id='249624' first='Addison' last='Bruns']. Slinger is 30-3, playing a rugged schedule where their only losses have been to Arrowhead, Pewaukee, and Falls.  They also have a head to head win over the three seed Neenah.  Neenah is out of the FVA and is currently 22-10.  They have a balanced attack that is led by [player_tooltip player_id='504427' first='Ella' last='Nigl'] and strong libero play from [player_tooltip player_id='504430' first='Ella' last='Lindgren'].  They have a head to head win over the four seed Manitowoc Lincoln from the Neenah Invite on 10/5.  Manitowoc Lincoln is led by a strong sophomore class consisting of [player_tooltip player_id='484915' first='Abigail' last='Weidmayer'], [player_tooltip player_id='724537' first='Mollie' last='Junk'], and [player_tooltip player_id='595947' first='Cora' last='Foster'] who have put together a big season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Who Could Cause Trouble?&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seeing West Bend West as a five seed, Oshkosh West as a six, and then Cedarburg, Fondy, and Germantown right after?&nbsp; The regional finals next Saturday night could cause plenty of fireworks.&nbsp; West Bend West has [player_tooltip player_id='202194' first='Kylee' last='Altendorf'] who is an electric outside hitter that can take over a match. Oshkosh West is really well balanced where they have [player_tooltip player_id='277433' first='Sydnee' last='Nelson'].&nbsp; If seeding plays out they could play conference rival Neenah in the regional final where they lost 3-1 to the Rockets last week.&nbsp; When the battle tested teams come together in a section like this anyone feels like they have a shot.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->