2008 RECAPRice Lake won in three over Medford. Hayward and West Salem were the other sectional semifinalists. Hayward's loss to Rice Lake in one of the aforementioned semis was a 16-14 five-set thriller.
2009 CONTENDERS AND RANDOM NOTES
Regional A
- Amery The Warriors will likely turn to junior middle Kelly Stewart, who was honorable mention Middle Border all-conference last season.
- Ashland The Oredockers are in the Lake Superior conference, which is primarily composed of Minnesota team.
- Hayward The Hurricanes return first-team Heart O'North all-conference seniors Morgan Lee and Amy McDonald, as well as junior Tatum Lee, who was second-team.
- New Richmond The Tigers will have a senior-stocked team that includes senior Kendra Mitchell (63 kills and 103 digs in 2008), junior setter Shelby Basel (165 assists in 2008) and senior Breanna Getschel (18.5 total blocks in 2008).
- Northwestern The Tigers will no doubt rely on senior Anna Morgan, who was first-team Heart O'North all-conference last season.
- Osceola The Chieftains have a good junior middle in Paige Garriga, who was second-team Middle Border all-conference last season. Senior middle Katie Zais was honorable mention. When it comes to serving, they know they can count on junior Lisa Rydeen, who was second in aces in the Middle Border last season with 17.
- Spooner The Rails have a returning second-team Heart O'North all-conference player in senior Kayla Vik.
- Altoona Seniors Rachel Larson and Bethany Reyzer were both honorable mention Cloverbelt West all-conference.
- Baldwin-Woodville Junior libero Erin Booth was honorable mention Middle Border all-conference last season. Senior Jessica Murtha, junior Kelsey Wahlquist, junior Ashley Robele and senior Bailey Larson will likely also be contributors. Sophomore Cabrina Grunseth was on the roster as a freshman.
- Barron The Golden Bears are in the Heart O'North conference and took Durand to four sets in the first round of last year's playoffs.
- Medford Area The Raiders feature senior Jessica Holbach, a second-team Great Northern all-conference player.
- Rice Lake The Warriors graduated Melissa Richie, a Gardner-Webb recruit, along with the 419 kills she provided last season. They return many Resch Center veterans, however, including senior Gina Bernier (103 kills in 2008), junior setter Stephanie Schmidt (176 assists in 2008), senior libero Katie Schwab (504 digs in 2008), senior Jenny Fjelstad (158 kills and 210 digs in 2008) and senior middle Marsha Hanson (100 kills).
- Somerset The Spartans will likely turn to junior Karli Solum, who led the team in kills last season. Senior Alicia Potting was second. Senior setter Lauren Westerdahl also returns, as does the big block of senior Gracie Hartman.
- Adams-Friendship The Green Devils are in the South Central conference and fell to Gale-Ettrick-Trempeleau in the first round of last season's playoffs.
- Lakeland Senior Carol Falesch was second-team Great Northern all-conference last season.
- Mosinee They lose three Great Northern all-conference players.
- Nekoosa The Papermakers are in the South Central conference. If anyone has a 2008 all-conference list, we'd be eternally grateful.
- Northland Pines The Eagles are in the Great Northern conference and fell to Tomahawk in the first round of last season's playoffs.
- Tomahawk They lose first-team Great Northern all-conference star Nikolene Miller, but still have junior Kaitlin Doughty, who was second-team Great Northern all-conference and honorable mention all-state. In addition, junior Kaylyn Olson was second-team all-conference and junior Jenna Otterholt was honorable mention. According to the Dunn County News, they will also have junior Sydney Lakatos, a transfer from Menomonie, who was second-team Big Rivers all-conference last season.
- Wittenberg-Birnamwood Seniors Courtney Rosenow and Ashley Koeller were honorable mention Central Wisconsin Eight all-conference last season.
- Black River Falls The Tigers are in the Coulee conference and we presume senior Morgan Stittleburg is among those returning.
- Durand Senior setter Kelly Robelia returns, as does junior Courtney Brusoe and senior Katie Sam. Sophomore Michaela Danzinger made the roster as a freshman.
- Ellsworth Junior Kayla Christopherson was second in the Middle Border in kills last season with 93. Senior Carlie Melstrom had 220 assists and the Panthers will also count on the big block of senior Rachael Anderson and junior Claire Tingelhoff.
- Gale-Ettrick-Trempeleau The Tigers are in the Coulee conference and we're still trying to find an all-conference list.
- Onalaska The Hilltoppers finished 9-3 last season in the Mississipi Valley conference. Even though they graduated four all-conference players last season, they return junior midde McKenzie Guth, who was honorable mention.
- Sparta The Spartans will look to senior outside Jamie Kenyon, who was first-team Mississippi Valley all-conference last season, as well as senior setter and second-team all-conference honoree Al Nading. In addition, senior middle Jenna Schroeder and junior outside Haylee Kirking were honorable mention.
- West Salem The Panthers are in the Coulee conference so, once again, we don't have a read on who did or did not make all-conference. We do know they graduated Northern Illinois recruit Mary Kurisch and that several of their athletes played club, including junior Meagan Koepnick and senior Alexis Deery.
Hayward over Sparta in five (and, yeah, OK, it's pretty much just a guess)
KEY LINKS
- 2009 WVCA Division 2 Scores
- 2009 Rosters (incomplete)
2009 SEASON NOTES
- Hayward defeated Rice Lake in its home opener on 9/1/09 to partially avenge last season's five-set sectional semifinal loss.
1 comment:
Hayward's Tatum Lee is a junior, as well as Morgan's younger sister.
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