5 Intriguing WIAA Saturday Night Regional Matches

Tournament time is here and the state has already seen upsets in regional play that have thrown a few curveballs for teams on the “Road to the Resch”. Saturday will be the regional finals with sectional play next Thursday and the sectional finals with trips to the state tournament on the line next Saturday. Here are five intriguing matchups that will be close to call with these teams having plenty of familiarity heading into Saturday night. [caption id="attachment_162561" align="aligncenter" width="413"]<img class="wp-image-162561" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/10/DSC09382.jpg" alt="" width="413" height="275" /> [player_tooltip player_id="91906" first="Elena" last="Dragani"], CMH[/caption] [caption id="attachment_162562" align="aligncenter" width="427"]<img class="wp-image-162562" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/10/DSC09431-e1634925569119.jpg" alt="" width="427" height="286" /> [player_tooltip player_id="81311" first="Alyssa" last="Gaeth"], KML[/caption] Catholic Memorial vs. Kettle Moraine Lutheran This side of the section in Division 2 is loaded with Pewaukee, Catholic Memorial, and Kettle Moraine Lutheran. For CMH and KML, they’ve had a season of peaks and valleys, fighting through some injuries, some big wins, and hope for a big postseason run. Catholic Memorial has played a gauntlet of a schedule that has included top teams in Wisconsin and the Chicagoland. They will be lead by [player_tooltip player_id="61787" first="Emily" last="Clausen"] who has over 300 kills on the season. The Crusaders also have two top notch setters in [player_tooltip player_id="81267" first="Lily" last="Lutz"] (Committed to Belmont) and [player_tooltip player_id="91906" first="Elena" last="Dragani"]. KML has won 10 of their past 11 matches which includes a final four finish at the Sprawl, one of the top tournaments in the state. Outside hitter and recent Concordia-Wisconsin commit, [player_tooltip player_id="81333" first="Stella" last="Zarling"] has been the top attacker for the Chargers all season with over 200 kills. However, a huge spark for this team has been the return of middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id="82287" first="Emily" last="Honzelka"], one of the top middles in the Class of 2023. Honzelka was out the first part of the season with an injury, but has returned to the lineup making an instant impact.   Freedom vs. Fox Valley Lutheran Teams out of the Fox Valley/Appleton area all know each other all too well. Freedom knocked off three seed Xavier out of Appleton last night and will meet up against their conference rival Fox Valley Lutheran out of Appleton. Freedom High School and FVL are separated by seven miles. FVL has five attackers with over 100 kills on the season and has one of the top liberos in the area in Junior, [player_tooltip player_id="119396" first="Kennedy" last="Schmitz"]. Freedom has racked up 25 wins on the season, and has two losses to FVL on the season. The Irish are led by two Juniors in [player_tooltip player_id="82906" first="Sydney" last="Bartels"], a springy, athletic middle who can score points in multiple ways and [player_tooltip player_id="91894" first="Rachel" last="Koss"]. Koss sets and swings, with a high IQ. Schmitz, Bartels, and Koss all played on the same FC Elite 16 Navy team this past club season. [caption id="attachment_149088" align="aligncenter" width="473"]<img class="wp-image-149088" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/07/Edgewood-Ring-Schmotzer.jpg" alt="" width="473" height="315" /> [player_tooltip player_id="81254" first="Natalie" last="Ring"] and [player_tooltip player_id="91887" first="Addison" last="Schmotzer"][/caption] Lake Mills vs. Edgewood Another two programs have plenty of common opponents, but have yet to play against each other this season. Edgewood is the higher seed and “favorite”, but Lake Mills has plenty of talent on their side and knows what its like to play against top competition. Edgewood has plenty of size and power where they are led by three division one recruits in [player_tooltip player_id="81264" first="Ally" last="Barth"] (North Dakota State), [player_tooltip player_id="81254" first="Natalie" last="Ring"] (Marquette), and [player_tooltip player_id="91887" first="Addison" last="Schmotzer"] (St. Thomas). Lake Mills will rely heavily on setter [player_tooltip player_id="81257" first="Sydney" last="Lewellin"] who has over 600 assists and nearly 100 kills on the season. [player_tooltip player_id="117343" first="Kaitlin" last="Borchert"] and Ava Belling are the two top attackers where they have combined for just under 600 kills on the season. [caption id="attachment_156422" align="aligncenter" width="471"]<img class="wp-image-156422" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/09/DSC09352.jpg" alt="" width="471" height="314" /> [player_tooltip player_id="81283" first="Tatum" last="Kebisek"], Brookfield Central[/caption] Cedarburg vs. Brookfield Central The D1 - Section 5 group is always the deepest in the state with multiple teams ranked in the top ten. Cedarburg is coming into the match as the champions of the North Shore Conference and has picked up some big wins throughout the year. The Bulldogs are 1-2 against Brookfield Central this year. [player_tooltip player_id="81256" first="Aspen" last="Jankowski"] does it all for Cedarburg where she has 380 kills on the year and is one of their top passers as well. [player_tooltip player_id="122466" first="Jae" last="Fitting"] is a top sophomore to watch for this team with nearly 400 digs on the season as their libero. Brookfield Central could be finding their stride at just the right time. The Lancers are back to full strength after spending part of their season without Minnesota commit, [player_tooltip player_id="22407" first="Mckenna" last="Wucherer"] who was playing with the U18 USA Youth National Team at the FIVB World Championships in Mexico. Morgan Daughtery, a Marquette commit, is a dominant middle blocker and a big time floor leader. [caption id="attachment_105328" align="aligncenter" width="434"]<img class="wp-image-105328" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/08/Sophia-Schneider1.jpg" alt="" width="434" height="289" /> [player_tooltip player_id="91885" first="Sophia" last="Schneider"], Waterloo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_117022" align="aligncenter" width="268"]<img class="wp-image-117022" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/11/Carizma-Muth-2-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="268" height="402" /> [player_tooltip player_id="119400" first="Carizma" last="Muth"], Randolph[/caption] Randolph vs. Waterloo Another section with multiple teams ranked in the top ten. Waterloo has the two seed and is listed as Honorable Mention in the rankings while Randolph is 35-7 and currently ranked 7th. Waterloo has athletes with plenty of state tournament appearances, led by [player_tooltip player_id="91886" first="Rylee" last="Duessler"] and [player_tooltip player_id="91885" first="Sophia" last="Schneider"] with over 500 combined kills and senior libero [player_tooltip player_id="57270" first="Michaela" last="Riege"] with over 300 digs. Randolph defeated Waterloo 2-0 a week ago in a tournament. The Rockets have two powerful outsides in [player_tooltip player_id="119400" first="Carizma" last="Muth"] and [player_tooltip player_id="81297" first="Cassandra" last="Alsum"]. This match has the makings of a long, five set battle with powerful play from attackers and athletes who can keep the ball off the floor.