The Joust: Top Seeds, Top Players Ready To Compete

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A lot happens in a short amount of time when it comes to high school volleyball.&nbsp; Within 48 hours tryouts are hard, teams are established, and in a few days teams will have their first scrimmage.&nbsp; Tuesday, August 25 will be the first day of matches and there will be plenty of two day tournaments on August 28-29.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the top tournaments in the state will be “The Joust”, held at Homestead High School in Mequon.&nbsp; Pools have been established, schedules are on AES, and teams are ready to go toe to toe making an early season statement.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Top Seeds</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>DSHA</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Oconomowoc</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Sussex Hamilton&nbsp;</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Kimberly&nbsp;</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Waunakee</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Pewaukee</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is no surprise to see DSHA at the top.&nbsp; The Dashers return a strong core of their lineup where in the past four years they have won three straight state titles and were state runner ups last season.&nbsp; Louisville commit [player_tooltip player_id='545505' first='Tegan' last='Loechler'] will be the swiss army knife who can score points, dish, block, and defend.&nbsp; This will be an exciting season to see how she will be utilized.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='587062' first='Harper' last='Wendlick'] returns as well, she is a six rotation outside hitter who has committed to Xavier.&nbsp; An athlete to keep tabs on will be incoming sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='808030' first='Maia' last='Kerry'] who made an impact as a freshman collecting 272 kills.&nbsp; She just bounces off the floor.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a previous article I wrote, I asked the question “Is this the year a team outside of Southeast Wisconsin wins a title?”.&nbsp; Neenah was the last school to win a fall state title outside of that area back in 2016.&nbsp; Kimberly and Waunakee are definitely in that conversation.&nbsp; These two teams faced off in last years D1 quarterfinals and return a large portion of their rosters.&nbsp; Kimberly will feature [player_tooltip player_id='545677' first='Brianna' last='Hagglund'] who had a huge club season for [program_tooltip program_id='428591' first='FC' last='Elite'] 16 Elite.&nbsp; She is an electric pin who was named MVP of the 16 American Division of USAV Nationals.&nbsp; She wasn't the only Papermaker to earn club hardware.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='809331' first='Finley' last='Van Lannen'] and [player_tooltip player_id='805698' first='Harper' last='Van Lannen'] also were named to the all tournament team for [program_tooltip program_id='428591' first='FC' last='Elite'] 17 Navy in the 17 American Division.&nbsp; Waunakee will return the top recruit in the Wisconsin Class of 2027 in [player_tooltip player_id='345274' first='Lauren' last='Sprague'].&nbsp; The Notre Dame commit is a six rotation outside where she is so clean in serve receive, it's elite.&nbsp; She can also score in multiple ways on the pin where she can swing big, but then hurt the other side with an offspeed shot.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>What To Watch For</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Next Up</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Who are the teams who could create some damage in pool play and make their way to the gold pools on day two?&nbsp; Xavier out of Appleton will return some key pieces to their lineup.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='545532' first='Rose' last='Kendall'] is a rising junior with a big lefty handed swing on the right side.&nbsp; She brings a lot of fire and intensity to the court where her intangibles are pretty special.&nbsp; Tosa East should have an exciting season returning the likes of Georgetown commit [player_tooltip player_id='545509' first='Sylvia' last='Flood'], [player_tooltip player_id='771899' first='Juliet' last='Otto'], and [player_tooltip player_id='487011' first='Helena' last='Otto']. Cedarburg is going to win a lot of matches this season where they have a very balanced group with returners at each touch.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='809138' first='Peyton' last='Wollman'] is one of the top senior liberos who is uncommitted as of now - she covers quite the ground and knows how to change the game.&nbsp; They also have senior [player_tooltip player_id='510485' first='Hannah' last='Heitzkey'] who averaged over three kills per set as a junior.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Impact Athletes</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='435889' first='Gigi' last='Chasco'] - Wisconsin Lutheran</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chasco is one of the top setters in the senior class and will be heading to Florida Gulf Coast.&nbsp; Wisconsin Lutheran will be a team who could be playing in some important games come late October.&nbsp; They've been running into DSHA in the sectional rounds, but this year they are separated.&nbsp; This will be a great early test for Wisco.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='587074' first='Megan' last='Olsen'] - Muskego&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Muskego has a nice core of athletes returning.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='587074' first='Megan' last='Olsen'] is a pin attacker who will be key this season where she can score points from anywhere.&nbsp; She had a big club season for 414 Elite and was also part of the Badger Region High Performance team.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='510416' first='Lillian' last='Romjue'] - Neenah </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The senior outside hitter will be a key player for the Rockets coming off a huge junior season.&nbsp; Last year she had over 250 kills and over 230 digs.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='496166' first='Ana' last='Degner'] - Kettle Moraine Lutheran</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='496166' first='Ana' last='Degner'] will be the top returning point scorer for KML.&nbsp; She has had a great club career for IAM VBC and will look to continue with a solid senior season.&nbsp; She knows how to hit a variety of angles and use the block to her advantage.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='708834' first='Brooke' last='Zoromski'] - Slinger</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Slinger comes in as a three seed in their pool.&nbsp; They lost some key players to graduation, but will return a&nbsp; high level libero from the junior class in [player_tooltip player_id='708834' first='Brooke' last='Zoromski'].&nbsp; She knows how to handle a high volume in serve receive and takes great command of the backrow.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='435878' first='Amorina' last='Compean-Costello'] - Brookfield East</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brookfield East lost some key attackers, but they still have some talented athletes coming back.&nbsp; One key player will be [player_tooltip player_id='435878' first='Amorina' last='Compean-Costello'].&nbsp; She has put together a nice career for the Spartans as a libero, She already has surpassed over 1,000 digs and will be heading to the University of Illinois-Chicago.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->