Watertown, Last Team Standing At Sprawl

Statement Made! Watertown is bringing home the gold ball from the 2018 Lynn LaPorte Sprawl in West Bend which is classically known as one of the top tournaments in the state. Perennial power DSHA, Burlington, Catholic Memorial, and more all in attendance, but this weekend it’s the Watertown Goslings, who were one set away from moving into the Bronze pool who took the top spot with Gold bracket wins over Oconomowoc and DSHA. Who is Watertown? Watertown, which is a Division 1 school about halfway between Madison and Milwaukee has a record of 31-5 which those five losses coming to Arrowhead, Waunakee, Kenosha Bradford, Slinger, and Sussex Hamilton. The Goslings have four players with over 100 kills, led by Senior Brianne Korducki followed by Samantha Gray, Alayna Westenberg, and Allison Stair. However their first and second contact is what keeps the offense firing. Senior libero, Sheridan Dettman is one of the top liberos in her class and already has close to 400 digs. A part of Capital Volleyball Academy, Dettman can take major pace off the ball, reliable in serve receive, and just finds a way to keep a rally going. Setter, Isabelle Schauer is a pure, gritty gamer. She steps up in big moments and with this lineup combination, they just find a way to get it done in crunch time much like this weekend. Schauer was on the Badger Region High Performance team this past summer running a 5-1 offense. At 5’7, Schauer plays much taller with a physical presence at the net and solid all around defense too. Her serving game is what gets it rolling - Dettman has almost 60 ace serves on the season so far. The Road To The Championship Watertown made it out of pool play with no losses which featured a crucial three set battle with Oconomowoc in favor of the Goslings 27-25, 21-25, and 15-13 sending them to the power pools Saturday morning. After a loss to Sussex Hamilton and a three set win over Neenah, a one set playoff was needed between to break up the three way tie. Watertown beat Neenah 15-11 and immediately after redeemed their loss to Hamilton 15-12 to end up in the gold bracket. Once again Watertown was faced with Oconomowoc and once again, the Goslings came out on top in three sets 24-26, 25-20, and 15-9 (side note - Watertown will be in the same section as Oconomowoc, Neenah, Slinger, Oshkosh West, and Sheboygan North, possibly the deepest sectional in the state). In the championship it was once again a three set thriller defeating DSHA 24-26, 25-20, 15-9. Other Sprawl Notables: I will admit, I keep in touch with coaches and fans who are in attendance even when I can’t be and to say it was a crazy weekend of volleyball is an understatement. Here are some matches that stood out among others and could potentially be matches in the future to keep an eye on: Greendale over Arrowhead 2-1 Greendale has athletes and anytime you have Kayce Litzau on the court you can never count on Greendale with her ability to set and hit. I mentioned before its not necessarily who you lose to, but when you lose. This lost put Arrowhead out of the powerpools which put them at a best possible finish of 13th. Arrowhead has played 22 matches since September 8. They have a 36-4 record, but with the loss to Greendale it shows once again the parity in Division 1. Kimberly over Appleton North 2-1 (17-15 in set 3) Kimberly and North are the two front runners in the FVA which also includes Neenah and Oshkosh West, but these two have played each other twice so far this year splitting matches before their conference match up this Thursday, September 27 at North. These two teams will also be in the same sectional. Catholic Memorial over Kettle Moraine Lutheran 2-1 This is the second time this year that CMH has defeated KML in three sets. These two teams will be in the same sectional as well as Wisconsin Lutheran which its safe to say 3 of the top 5 teams in Division 2 are all out of the same sectional. There is a great possibility for another matchup between these two teams come late October. Sussex Hamilton With only one Senior on the roster this team is getting better and better each time out and with youth, experience is gained with every rep. With a crew of athletes who can play multiple positions, led by six rotation outside Sarah Schrader, a UW Milwaukee commit, the Chargers can be a dangerous team come postseason in a sectional that includes Arrowhead, Brookfield Central, Brookfield East, Cedarburg, DSHA, Germantown, and Pewaukee. To advance our the regionals here will be tough!