Five Storylines From Menomonie Sprawl

Chris Fitzgerald August 27, 2018 @ 11:52 AM

Eight courts, two facilities, the late August humidity was felt on the campus of UW-Stout at the Menomonie Sprawl as the opening weekend of Wisconsin high school volleyball was being kicked off. With four courts in the Johnson Fieldhouse on Saturday hosting the Gold and Silver brackets, there was another four courts in the Multipurpose Room, oh and there was a football scrimmage on campus too with the buzz of fall sports full go. Here are five takeaways from the Menomonie Sprawl, my first time attending this particular tournament and was a great time seeing new players and teams from Western Wisconsin. River Falls Is The Real Deal - River Falls lost key players to graduation in middle Marissa Stockman (now at Illinois State) and setter Izzy Barr (now at Augsburg), but with their team mantra of “Reload”, the Wildcats have done just that. Setter, Maddi Kaely brings an athletic and offensive style to the court where she has this savy of knowing what hitter is available and open spots on the court to be offensive at the right time. Haley Graetz will be one to keep an eye on for the Class of 2022 as a 5’10 middle who knows how to use a blend of power and finesse. Oh, and there is still Emily Bannit (committed to Loyola), Halle Olson (top outside hitter in 2020), and Anna Wolf (Class of 2021 commit to the Gophers). The Balance - Throughout the top three divisions there was very little separation between the teams competiting. Watching teams in the Bronze division, they were definitely able to compete with the teams in the Silver and Gold. Stevens Point, who won the Silver division, has a Senior loaded roster led by Green Bay recruit Kayla Lass will be a competitive team in the Wisconsin Valley Conference, while on the court next to them in the Gold Division was Wausau West with Paige Brandenburg and Robyn Kirsch on the outside. The two will square off in conference play Thursday, September 6. Bears “Bear Down” - Clayton takes the court and there isn’t anything physically imposing about this team. They are anywhere from 5’5 to 5’11, solid athletes, but their defense and grit is immeasurable on a stat sheet. Selena Levendoski is the leader of this team out of the middle, but plays all the way around. She is able to approach and hit a sharp angle on the ten foot line. So tough to defend. Clayton played River Falls in the championship and took them to 27-25 in the first set. Scrappy, so scrappy. When you play clean volleyball, error free, gritty defense the points can pile up in a hurry. Sophomore Success - We will have a more indepth piece on the talent level of the Sophomores at this tournament, but there is such a large improvement from Freshman to Sophomore year. Having the knowledge, experience, and being able to adjust quickly is so important. Oshkosh West has a solid group of Sophomores and the talent is there for the makes of a really solid team. Maggie Craker, a Sophomore setter for McDonell Central is the leader of the team, constant communication and just a competitive edge to keep her team in the game. They will be a solid contender in Division 4. It’s Still Early - There were times where a ball would drop, there were questions on where to be on defense, and there were miscues that were due to just season being early. I was able to attend the ACC/Big Ten Challenge matches at the Target Center in Minneapolis between Wisconsin, Minnesota, Florida State, and North Carolina and those same things were happening. No matter what level of play, there are always going to be the early season mishaps, and the beauty of sports, coaching, and playing is seeing the team progress throughout the season. There are definitely some teams in this tournament that have the potential to make some noise come late October, early November.