2008 RECAPGrantsburg defeated Regis in four. Washburn and Melrose-Mindoro were the other sectional semifinalists.
2009 CONTENDERS AND RANDOM NOTES
Regional A
- Glenwood City All of the Hilltoppers who were Dunn-St. Croix all-conference players last season graduated.
- Grantsburg The 2008 state runner-up only lost a single match last season and they're returning more than 750 kills from that team. Junior outside Kortney Morrin (438 kills in 2008), senior middle Lauren Romanowski (121 kills and 79 blocks in 2008) and senior outside Anne Palmquist (229 kills in 2008) will again carry much of the offensive load. As far as setting goes, the Pirates appear to have run a 6-2 last season and both setters will also return: senior Larissa Wilhelm had 261 assists in 2008 and junior Emily Cole dished out 374 assists. Defensively, senior libero Sarah Wald (143 digs in 2008) will once again be counted on to get the Pirates' potent offense started. Oh yeah, did we mention that Kortney Morrin was honorable mention all-state? And that sophomore Gab Witzany was tabbed a "player to watch" last season by the Burnett County Sentinel.
- Prescott Senior Kelly Krech had 77 digs last season and earned honorable mention Middle Border all-conference accolades.
- Saint Croix Central Senior Sarah Hawkins made first-team Dunn-St. Croix all-conference last season, while senior Lindsay Chinander earned an honorable mention nod.
- Spring Valley The Cardinals feature first-team Dunn-St. Croix all-conference senior Aarynn Deutsch.
- Unity We don't know much about the Eagles other than the fact that honorable mention Lakeland West all-conference player Cailin Turner graduated. We'll try to find out more.
- Webster Senior Loreto Stange was first-team Lakeland West all-conference last season and junior Michelle Gibbs was honorable mention.
- Cameron Sophomore Molly Brion was first-team Lakeland East all-conference last season as a freshman, but the other three Comets who joined her on the first team all graduated.
- Chequamegon This is a new school district (see comment below).
- Cumberland The Beavers are in the Heart O'North conference. Returning players include junior outside Natalie Gagner.
- Flambeau The Falcons are in the Lakeland East conference, but we don't have much information on them beyond that.
- Hurley Returning players from last season's roster include seniors Joanna Ajala, Brooke Vaara and Judy Nevala.
- Ladysmith Senior Ashley Zahurones was second-team Heart O'North all-conference last season.
- Phillips Senior Lindsey Wanish played club for Northern Pride, which won the 17 Club division at the 2009 Badger Region Championships.
- Washburn We don't have any information on the Castle Guards and it's a little embarrassing since they're a perennial force in this region. Any help would be appreciated.
- Bloomer The Blackhawk will turn to senior Kayla Ashland, who was second-team Heart O'North all-conference last season. Another Bloomer player to watch is the 6'0 middle K'Trina Ruff.
- Boyceville One Bulldog to watch will be senior Kelsie Klaustermeier, who was honorable mention Dunn-St. Croix all-conference last season.
- Chetek Senior Alexis Schaaf was honorable mention Heart O'North all-conference last season.
- Clear Lake The Warriors are in the Lakeland West, but we don't have much information on them beyond that.
- Colfax Senior Laura Mau was second-team Dunn-St. Croix all-conference last season.
- Elk Mound Senior Emily Harrison was second-team Dunn-St. Croix all-conference last season.
- Regis No, their mascot is not the Philbins. And yes, they graduated some big-time players last season, including Brianna Plank. Fortunately, they return super-sophomore Heather Bowe, who will again be a force to be reckoned with. She was first-team Cloverbelt West all-conference last season as a freshman.
- Arcadia The Raiders return senior Kelly Pronschinske, who missed last season with a knee injury. Their new coach is a former Arcadia coach who, in 2002, led the Raiders to a Coulee conference title. The following two seasons they finished in second.
- Blair-Taylor We don't have any information on the Wildcats. Any and all assistance is welcome and more welcome.
- Cadott Senior Rachel Scheidler was honorable mention Cloverbelt West all-conference for the Hornets last season.
- Fall Creek The Crickets have a quality junior in Jenny Geske, who was honorable mention Cloverbelt West all-conference last season.
- Melrose-Mindoro The Mustangs cruised through this regional before falling to Regis in a sectional semifinal. Besides that and the fact that they're in the Dairyland conference, we don't have much else on them.
- Osseo-Fairchild The Chieftains must have had a senior night to end all senior nights last fall, having graduated no fewer than 10 players. This season, they'll likely count on seniors Carmen Johnson and Caitlin Featherman.
- Whitehall We know the Norse are in the Dairyland conference and not much else.
Grantsburg over Regis in four.
2009 KEY LINKS
- We Are Grantsburg Blog
- WVCA D3 Scores
- 2009 Rosters (to come)
- (to come)
4 comments:
For Arcadia, they have a new coach this year and also return their best player, senior Kelly Pronschinske who missed last season with a knee injury. Their new coach is a former Arcadia volleyball coach and in his first season at Arcadia in 2002 led them to a Coulee Conference title and followed that with two consecutive runner-up seasons.
Thanks for this insight. We'll update the preview accordingly. Any chance you have a complete list of Coulee all-conference?
Chequameqon is the new school district made up of Park Falls and either Butternut or Glidden.
Another Bloomer player to watch is K'Trina Ruff at middle blocker. She's about 6'0 and yes, she spells it with a hyphen.
Thanks for the information. Do you know what class year K'Trina Ruff is?
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