From the Stands: Division I State Championship Recap
It is a long road to make it to the state championship on center court at the Resch Center. And anyone who gets there is truly an amazing team. Saturday night was no different. As Oconomowoc and Burlington coaches and…
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Continue ReadingIt is a long road to make it to the state championship on center court at the Resch Center. And anyone who gets there is truly an amazing team. Saturday night was no different. As Oconomowoc and Burlington coaches and players walked out for warm-ups, the crowd roared. The stands were packed and the teams were amped.
That fire never left throughout the entire match. Every point was a battle, each team making the other work for every point. There were very few errors and a lot of big plays. Burlington came out on top, after dropping the first set 25-27. The Demons came out on top by two points in the second game with a score of 30-28, then proceeded to win the following two.
On Burlington’s side, junior setter Kaley Blake (Prep Dig Rank #7, Committed to UW-Milwaukee) ran the show. She could jump set a ball from anywhere on the court to anywhere on the court. Kaley was an amazing leader with an absolutely ridiculous amount of skill. On top of that, she was great at defense as well.
Senior right side Grace Peyron also had a huge impact on the team. With 13 kills and 9 blocks, she was unstoppable in the front row. Her block timing with middle Emily Alan was amazing. Together they had 5 blocks in the first 10 points of the game! Grace worked as a cohesive unite with both her middles and her setter.
Emily Alan deserves her own shout out. She had 10 blocks and 11 kills throughout the match. Emily hustled and closed nearly every single block, and her stats show that. She set up her defense for immense success and then capitalized on their passes with great swings and very few errors.
Sophomore libero Samantha Naber (Prep Dig Rank #4, Committed to Marquette) was amazing as well. What I loved about her was how much she trusted her teammates. She was solid and consistent in the back row and read the ball extremely well.
Maddie Berezowitz (Prep Dig Rank #18, Committed to Kentucky) played outside for the Demons and did an amazing job. She is an undersized outside with a lot of power and control and huge hops! She also played amazing defense. If someone got a kill on Maddie, she made sure they didn’t get another one. She has so much grit and was very fun to watch.
Amanda Viel, a sophomore defensive specialist, also made quite the impact. She was quick on defense and played whatever role she was given like she had been playing there her whole life. She started at right back for the demons and also played middle back. Her versatility in the back row is very valuable.
Now let’s talk about the Oconomowoc Raccoons. What I loved about this team is they knew how to rally. They were amazing in the second half of games and were able to put up some big runs even as the score inched toward 25. They had a lot of grit and it showed. Nothing dropped on their side without a hand on it. It is so rare to see a team that is so good in the second half of games, but they did it every single set. They were down quite a bit in the first set and came back to win 27-25. These athletes knew how to fight and it showed.
Junior libero Caitlin Crawford (Committed to South Carolina) was just fun to watch. She flew across the court and got some digs that I honestly thought wouldn’t get a touch on them. Caitlin was very much a leader on her team and ran the backcourt extremely well.
Fellow junior and captain setter Tayler Alden (Prep Dig Rank #2, Committed to Northern Iowa), had great hands. She could put the ball pin to pin from anywhere on the court with very little effort. Tayler ran a 5-1 offense but still managed to rack up 10 kills along with her 32 assists. Tayler brought a lot of fire to her team and her energy was motivating.
Freshman outside hitter Maleah Howe had 9 big kills. For such a young athlete, she excelled in this competitive and high energy situation. She was not afraid of big plays either. In the first set, she had the game-winning kill for the Raccoons. I am excited to see her continue to grow throughout her high school career.
Senior captain and right side Tessa Christopherson had a very powerful swing and a great block. She might not have been the stats leader for kills but she had some big kills that had a huge impact on the game. She also had 5 blocks throughout the match and really was able to bring the momentum back to the Raccoons side of the court at key moments.
Fellow senior captain and middle blocker Elle Shult had 9 kills and 5 blocks. Here kill to attempt ratio was awesome. It seemed like she didn’t get a ton of sets, but every one she did get she did something with. Elle has a lot of power and uses the ball well.
Oconomowoc has a very young team, with two starting freshmen in their ranks and a slew of sophomores and juniors that made up the bulk of the team. They had the amazing accomplishment of taking 2nd in the state this year, but I have a feeling we may be seeing them back on the championship court in the near future!
This was a great match played well by all. The volleyball was seriously impressive as were the athletes, fans, coaches, and referees. Congratulations to both teams on an amazing season and good luck to everyone in their upcoming club tryouts!