DSHA Claims Charger Challenge Once Again

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Charger Challenge next disappoints.&nbsp; Once again, some of the top teams in Wisconsin went head to head at the [program_tooltip program_id='428672' first='Milwaukee' last='Sting'] Center this weekend.&nbsp; Who were the winners?&nbsp; What were the surprises?&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DSHA Takes The Title…Again</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Divine Savior Holy Angels continues to blaze their own trail this season.&nbsp; They finished with a perfect 7-0 record, but did receive a scare from Xavier in the challenge match where they defeated the top ranked team in D2 25-15, 23-25, 15-8.&nbsp; The bracket play consisted of knocking off Pewaukee, Fond du Lac, and Sussex Hamilton in the championship.&nbsp; In the championship match, the Dashers were led by a dangerous sophomore duo in [player_tooltip player_id='545505' first='Tegan' last='Loechler'] and [player_tooltip player_id='587062' first='Harper' last='Wendlick'].&nbsp; The two combined for 16 kills with Loechler hitting .583 and Wendlick hitting .471.&nbsp; Senior middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='809763' first='Maddie' last='Brown'] had eight kills and three blocks out of the middle.&nbsp; DSHA has a big conference matchup with Brookfield East who is currently 21-2.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fond du Lac Rises To Final Four</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fond du Lac is a team who made a big statement this weekend.&nbsp; They have quietly risen to be a team to be reckoned with this season with big wins against the likes of Kimberly, Oshkosh West, Manitowoc Lincoln, and Arrowhead prior to this past weekend.&nbsp; At the Charger Challenge they advanced to the challenge match with pool play wins over Manitowoc Lincoln and Kettle Moraine.&nbsp; In the challenge match, they defeated a pesky Burlington squad 15-13 in set three which sent them into the gold bracket.&nbsp; In their quarterfinal match, they defeated Menomonee Falls in three sets before being defeated by the eventual champion in DSHA.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Recent UW-Green Bay commit Ellie [player_tooltip player_id='510426' first='Ellisyn' last='Shultis'] had a huge weekend.&nbsp; In the quarterfinal win against Falls, she gathered 11 kills and 13 digs.&nbsp; She is a true six rotation outside who can do a little bit of everything from serve receive, defense, to scoring from the front and backrow.&nbsp; Libero Briahna Mentink was lights out for the Cardinals.&nbsp; She manages to get touches on everything, she collected 15 digs against Menomonee Falls while senior middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='504452' first='Lyla' last='Thomas'] collected five blocks.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Battle For D2 Teams</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Four of the top five teams in D2 were in action at the Charger Challenge in Xavier, Luxemburg-Casco, Sauk Prairie, and Catholic Memorial.&nbsp; Xavier came out of the weekend on top among this group where they took a set of DSHA and won the silver bracket.&nbsp; They defeated Sauk Prairie convincingly in the silver bracket quarterfinals 25-18, 25-12 which set up a matchup with Luxemburg-Casco in the silver semifinals.&nbsp; These two teams have plenty of history in Northeast Wisconsin where Xavier won state titles in 2022 and 2023 while Luxemburg-Casco were the state runner up finishers last season in 2024.&nbsp; Xavier would take this round in three sets despite 18 kills from [player_tooltip player_id='459898' first='Aubrey' last='Frey'] of Luxemburg-Casco.&nbsp; Catholic Memorial bounced back from a 1-2 pool finish to take their bracket in bronze defeating Muskego and Cedarburg.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What's Next? </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>18 of the teams from the Charger Challenge will be heading to the Sprawl Friday and Saturday in West Bend.&nbsp; Top seeds at the Sprawl are DSHA, Arrowhead, Waunakee, Oconomowoc, Waukesha West, and Brookfield East.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->