Greater Metro Conference Preview – Part 1

<p>As preseason practices get underway, we will take a look at the Greater Metro Conference (GMC) consisting of schools near Milwaukee.  The conference was established in 1997 and is known as one of the tops in the state in both athletics and academics.  The GMC is no joke with 4 teams ranked in the top 14 in the state at the end of 2017.  </p> <p>Last season there was a 3-way tie (Brookfield Central, Brookfield East, and Menomonee Falls) for 1^st in the conference regular season. Divine Savior Holy Angels (DSHA) won the conference tournament.  I think there will be a bit of a mix-up this season with the loss of some big seniors and some talented youth looking for their moments to shine!</p> <p><strong><u>TOP CONTENDERS</u></strong></p> <p><strong>#1 - Brookfield Central</strong></p> <p>31-17 Overall Record</p> <p>7-1 Conference Record</p> <p>#14 Maxpreps State Rank</p> <p>Central’s only regular conference loss came to Menomonee Falls last year. They will be losing some top talent, but with returning 5 major contributors, as well as the incoming youngest Wucherer sister who has already committed to Minnesota, I think Central will be making another run for a conference title.</p> <p><strong>Seniors Lost:</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9268" first="Miranda" last="Wucherer"] – </strong>5’9 – Setter/Right Side – Northern Kentucky</p> <p>1^st Team All-Conference Player of the Year</p> <p>WVCA 1^st Team All-State</p> <p>Led team with 107 aces (Career 320 aces)</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9335" first="Cami" last="Herman"] </strong>– 5’10 – Outside Hitter - Naval Academy</p> <p>1^st Team All-Conference</p> <p>WVCA Honorable Mention All-State</p> <p>Led team with 503 digs and 481 kills (Career 1,326 digs and 1,407 kills)</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9318" first="Sarah" last="Klobuchar"] – </strong>5’9 – Setter/Right Side – Doane College</p> <p>Honorable Mention All-Conference</p> <p>Led team with 676 assists (Career 710 assists)</p> <p><strong>Notable Returners</strong>:</p> <p><strong>Amanda Mueller</strong> – 2019 – 5’10 – Middle Blocker</p> <p>Led team with 75 blocks.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="80166" first="Madison" last="Weyker"] </strong>– 2020 – 5’9 – Outside Hitter</p> <p>Contributed 377 digs, 210 kills, 37 aces, and 18 blocks.</p> <p><strong>Isabella Ledezma </strong>– 2020 – 5’9 – Outside Hitter</p> <p>Contributed 135 digs and 18 aces.</p> <p><strong>Cat Uczen</strong> – 2021 – 5’7 – Defensive Specialist</p> <p>Contributed 287 digs and 25 aces.</p> <p><strong>Kelsey Brunner </strong>– 2020 – 5’5 – Defensive Specialist</p> <p>Contributed 196 digs and 17 aces.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>#2 - Menomonee Falls</strong></p> <p>32-14 Overall Record</p> <p>7-1 Conference Record</p> <p>#12 Maxpreps State Rank</p> <p>Menomonee Falls is losing some big contributors, but they are also returning some big fire power and a solid defensive duo to build off.   Last year Menomonee Fall’s only lost came late in the season to Brookfield East, so it should be another fun match-up in 2018.</p> <p><strong>Seniors Lost:</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9312" first="Rachel" last="Murphy"] – </strong>6’0 – Middle Blocker – New Mexico</p> <p>2^ndTeam All-Conference</p> <p>WVCA Honorable Mention All-State</p> <p>Led team with 71 blocks (Career 154 blocks)</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9378" first="Ciara" last="Gilbertson"] – </strong>5’7 – Setter – UW-Stevens Point</p> <p>All-Conference Honorable Mention</p> <p>Led team with 931 assists (Career 1,935 assists)</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9380" first="Cami" last="Stigler"] – </strong>5’6 - Libero</p> <p>All-Conference Honorable Mention</p> <p>Led team with 40 aces and 294 digs (Career 134 aces and 1,053 digs)</p> <p><strong>Brianna Becker – </strong>5’7 – Outside Hitter</p> <p>Career 368 kills, 69 digs, and 16 blocks.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9379" first="Sarah" last="Navin"] – </strong>6’0 – Middle Blocker/Right Side</p> <p>Career 323 kills, 69 blocks, and 68 aces.</p> <p><strong>Big Returner:</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="32732" first="Ashley" last="Guenveur"] - </strong>2019 – 6’0 – Outside Hitter – Committed to Troy</p> <p>1^st Team All-Conference</p> <p>WVCA Honorable Mention All-State</p> <p>Led team with 428 kills</p> <p><strong>Notable Returnees:</strong></p> <p><strong>Jenna Frankowski – </strong>2019 – 5’6 – Defensive Specialist</p> <p>Led team with 40 aces</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56451" first="Kady" last="Stigler"] – </strong>2021 – 5’6 – Defensive Specialist</p> <p>Contributed 120 digs and 33 aces.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>#3 - Sussex-Hamilton</strong></p> <p>13-27 Overall Record</p> <p>2-6 Conference Record</p> <p>This may seem like a strange pick prediction for #3, but with only losing 3 contributors and the return of 2 All-Conference performers, 2 other big contributors, and seeing a group of Sussex-Hamilton players’ names popping up over the club and summer, I think they are an up-and-coming group that should not be underestimated. </p> <p><strong>Seniors Lost:</strong></p> <p><strong>Kristin Thompson – </strong>5’9 – Outside Hitter</p> <p>Led team with 190 kills (Career 246 kills)</p> <p><strong>Emily Hirn – </strong>5’6 – Defensive Specialist</p> <p>Career 266 digs and 43 aces</p> <p><strong>Nicole Macalusa – </strong>5’7 – Setter</p> <p>Led team with 366 assists (Career 1,188 assists)</p> <p><strong>Big returners:</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="32740" first="McKenna" last="Packer"] – </strong>2019 – 6’1 – Middle Blocker</p> <p>2^ndTeam All-Conference</p> <p>WVCA Honorable Mention All-Conference</p> <p>Led team with 86 blocks</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="80154" first="Sarah" last="Schrader"] -</strong>2020 – 5’6 – Outside Hitter/Libero</p> <p>Honorable Mention All-Conference</p> <p>Led team with 66 aces and 316 digs</p> <p><strong>Notable Returnees:</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="33734" first="Lakyn" last="Graves"] – </strong>2021 – Middle Blocker</p> <p>Contributed 70 kills and 46 blocks</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="80730" first="Kayla" last="Lewinski"] – </strong>2021 – Pin Hitter</p> <p>Contributed 90 kills, 77 digs, and 29 blocks</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>#3 – Germantown</strong></p> <p>14-27 Overall Record</p> <p>1-7 Conference Record</p> <p>Germantown might be another strange pick to be in the top mix, but they will be another team on the rise.  They aren’t losing any big contributors and therefore returning a lot of experience.</p> <p><strong>Big returnees:</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="33038" first="Hannah" last="Brown"] – </strong>2019 – 6’0 – Middle Blocker</p> <p>2^nd Team All-Conference</p> <p>WVCA Honorable Mention All-State</p> <p>Led team with 114 blocks</p> <p><strong>Notable Returnees</strong>:</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56033" first="Nikki" last="Censky"] – </strong>2020 – 5’10 – Middle Blocker</p> <p>Led team with 195 kills</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="80721" first="Tatum" last="Catalano"] – </strong>2021 – 5’11 – Outside Hitter/Middle Blocker</p> <p>Led team with 42 aces</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="33076" first="Tori" last="Zagorski"] – </strong>2019 – 6’0 – Right Side</p> <p>Contributed 132 kills, 94 digs, 62 blocks, and 19 aces</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="33262" first="Amber" last="Bischel"] - </strong>2020 – 5’5 – Libero</p> <p>Led team with 561 digs</p> <p><strong>Julia Maas – </strong>2020 – 5’8 – Setter</p> <p>Led team with 311 assists</p> <p><strong>Dani Mark – </strong>2019 – 5’6 – Outside Hitter/Defensive Specialist</p> <p>Contributed 97 digs and 11 aces</p> <p><strong>Tabitha Wechlo – </strong>2019 – 6’0 – Middle Blocker/Right Side</p> <p>Contributed 47 kills and 26 blocks</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>More on the GMC to come…</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>