The Wisconsin state volleyball tournament concluded on November 5th, resulting in four teams winning division titles. Division brackets and scores can be viewed here.
Division 1
Neenah High School won its first volleyball state championship since 1978 by defeating Burlington in three sets. The Rockets took an easy victory with set scores of 25-17, 25-23, and 25-10.
Neenah (45-4) was led by junior Addie Barnes, who achieved a double-double with 13 kills and 17 digs. Senior Hope Werch added 12 digs and 12 kills, posting a .440 hitting percentage. As a team, the Rockets had a hitting percentage of .347, while Burlington went .077 for the match.
Burlington previously won the state championships in 2011 and 2012.
Division 2
Catholic Memorial proved its No. 1 ranking in the D2 coaches poll during preseason by winning the D2 state championship for the third straight year. The Crusaders (42-7) beat Notre Dame Academy in 3 sets with scores of 25-23, 25-19, and 25-14.
Catholic Memorial didn’t drop a single set on their path to the state title. This win marks the sixth win in eight years for the Crusaders.
A duo of 6-foot-1 seniors, Lexi Alden and Ivey Whalen, led the Crusaders to victory, hitting 15 and 11 kills, respectively.
Division 3
Howards Grove delivered a 26-24, 25-13, 25-21 sweep of Lourdes Academy to take home the title of D3 state champions. This is the first state championship for the Tigers (42-4) since 1976, resulting in a state win 40 years in the making.
Samantha Yancy tallied 22 kills and a .346 hitting percentage for Howards Grove. Taylor Bubolz had 35 assists. Both these seniors, along with five others, have been playing together for the better part of a decade, resulting in a connection and comfort with each other on the court.
Division 4
Newman Catholic cinched an easy 3 set win over Clayton to earn their fourth consecutive Division 4 state championship. The scores of the match were 25-22, 25-10, and 25-13.
Mariah Whalen hammered 26 kills and set a Division 4 state tournament record, with a three-set match hitting percentage of .632. Rylie Vaughn added 21 assists, 10 digs and eight kills, and Kenzie Krach got 14 assists and five digs.
The Newman Cardinals (34-7) concluded their run to the playoffs without losing a single set.
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