What Wisconsin D1 Squads Are Ready For The Next Step?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In Wisconsin high school volleyball, we tend to see the usual suspects.&nbsp; Plenty of teams who make the state tournament an annual thing.&nbsp; But who are some teams who could be playing some big matches at the end of October?&nbsp; Who are the teams who could be winning a conference title?&nbsp; Here are teams who fit into this category.&nbsp; They are gearing up for a big season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>De Pere</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bird is the word.&nbsp; The Redbirds won a regional title and will be looking to take that next step.&nbsp; They will be in the hunt for the Fox River Classic Conference as well as a team to make a run in section 2.&nbsp; Their season was ended by Kimberly in the sectional semifinals in 2025, but this year the section is wide open with Kimberly moving sectionals.&nbsp; SPASH now moves in, making it an interesting combo of teams to get to the state tournament.&nbsp; They will be led by rising senior [player_tooltip player_id='510430' first='Erin' last='O'Connor'] along with two solid ball control outsides in [player_tooltip player_id='522338' first='Mariah' last='Jeskewitz'] and Adeline Dwyer.&nbsp; Another senior who will be key for them is setter [player_tooltip player_id='949346' first='Kayli' last='Raygo'].&nbsp; They will start the season where it could be a glimpse of what is to come in the post season when they play at the Stevens Point tournament.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Watertown&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Goslings made quite a statement in 2025 and will be looking to advance even further in the postseason in 2026. Three key returning attackers that will be ones to watch are [player_tooltip player_id='509337' first='Ella' last='Peirick'], [player_tooltip player_id='774557' first='Tess' last='Spende'], and [player_tooltip player_id='554427' first='Reese' last='Hinrichs'].&nbsp; Peirick and Hinrichs gained valuable experience this offseason playing for [program_tooltip program_id='428672' first='Milwaukee' last='Sting'] 17 Gold, winning the USAV National Division title.&nbsp; Running the show will be senior Breanna Meracle who has already surpassed over 2,000 career assists.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DC Everest</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Evergeens return all of their scoring from 2025 where they will look for [player_tooltip player_id='565667' first='Ella' last='Eckhoff'] and [player_tooltip player_id='934871' first='Brooke' last='Johnson'] to lead the way.&nbsp; Eckhoff is a dominant attacker where she's going to score on the pin where she can go hard line or cross. She had just under 400 kills as a junior. Johnson is a UNC Wilmington commit for beach where she can do a little bit of everything, but has been doing most of her damage out of the middle.&nbsp; If this team can pass, staying in system they will be tough to stop.&nbsp; They compete in the Wisconsin Valley where the favorite to win will be SPASH (Stevens Point).&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Westosha Central&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Falcons are always going to be in the hunt.&nbsp; They did graduate some lethal point scorers and their libero, but will return one of the top setters in the senior class in [player_tooltip player_id='435900' first='Payton' last='Scifres']. She can dish and find ways to score points herself being a lengthy 6'1, a major presence at the net offensively and defensively.&nbsp; They are part of the Southern Lakes Conference where they usually go toe to toe with Burlington for the top spot.&nbsp; They will also be in the same section as Burlington where there could be some big matches between these two teams all season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wauwatosa East</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is a lot of promise in the 2026 season for the Red Raiders.&nbsp; They return some athletes who bring athleticism, experience, and are accustomed to going head to head with high level talent.&nbsp; Georgetown commit [player_tooltip player_id='545509' first='Sylvia' last='Flood'] averaged over four kills per set and had 383 total as a sophomore.&nbsp; Rising sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='771899' first='Juliet' last='Otto'] does a little bit of everything for their side of the net where she had 438 assists, 231 digs, and 156 kills.&nbsp; Holding down the backrow as the commander is [player_tooltip player_id='487011' first='Helena' last='Otto'] who has surpassed over 1,000 digs with one more season to go.&nbsp; They are in a rugged conference and sectional with the likes of DSHA and Sussex Hamilton, but they have no fear in going up against some of these top programs.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Muskego&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Muskego could be a sneaky good team heading into th 2026 season. They return five athletes who had over 100 kills in 2025 in [player_tooltip player_id='435901' first='Piper' last='Graham'], [player_tooltip player_id='522050' first='Maddie' last='Kuglitsch'], [player_tooltip player_id='587074' first='Megan' last='Olsen'], [player_tooltip player_id='827908' first='Tatum' last='Meinen'], and [player_tooltip player_id='781421' first='Lily' last='George'].&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='587074' first='Megan' last='Olsen'] could be one to keep an extra close eye on.&nbsp; She had a huge club season for 414 16 Elite and was part of the Badger Region High Performance U19 team.&nbsp; They will also have two setters with experience in [player_tooltip player_id='435903' first='Tatum' last='Jahns'] and [player_tooltip player_id='736718' first='Julia' last='Nelson'].&nbsp; Like plenty of these Milwaukee teams they will have a rugged schedule being part of the Classic 8 where each night is going to be a battle.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Janesville Craig</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025 was a big year for Janesville Craig where they finished 30-7 and were the co-champions of the Big 8 Conference with Verona.  However, they were upset in tournament play by Milton which will fuel their fire for the 2026 season.  They will return their top scorer in [player_tooltip player_id='828689' first='Abigail' last='Claas'] who had just under 300 kills.  [player_tooltip player_id='581595' first='Chloe' last='Adams'] returns as their setter where she had 639 assists as a sophomore.  The pieces are there for the Cougars who will look to make waves again in their conference and a deeper post season run. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->