Kudos to the Capital Times

They provided outstanding coverage of Wisconsin Heights' D3 championship run, including a Q&A with Hillary Hughes and a live blog during the championship match itself. We love it when there's good press for volleyball in this state and we love it even more when there's lots of it.

Must-See Sectional Final TV from a Team That Only Lost a Single Match All Season

So here's the scenario: You haven't lost a single match all season and you're playing for the opportunity to go to state. Each set is close (23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 26-24) but in the end, the other team is the one celebrating.

So what do you do next?

If you're Sheboygan Lutheran, you create a video for the team that beat you (Shoreland Lutheran), thanking them for a great match and wishing them well at state. We stumbled across the above video on YouTube yesterday. Very, very classy.

The Inexact Science of Creating Lists

Someone shared a comment with us about the all-tournament team which questioned why only a single player from Kenosha Tremper was on the list. 

The person acknowledged (correctly) that it's the hardest list to create since players from eight different schools are vying for a mere six spots. Beyond that, we have zero insight (nil, nada, none) into the selection process. All we know is that it's an inexact science and always will be. 

One thing the WVCA might consider is naming more all-tournament players from D1 (eight? 12?) in future years. Just a thought.

In any event, volleyball is the ultimate team sport. No one wins a state championship, a trip to the Resch or even a single match without the other five on the court plus however many more are on the bench, even if none of those players ever get individual recognition. 

That, in our opinion, is inarguable.     

Resch Reflections #4: All Over But the Welcome Home Parades

Grantsburg started their pep rally 10 minutes ago. And we're sure many similar celebrations are occurring elsewhere. 

Let us know what your town and school are doing to honor their returning volleyball heroes and we'll share with the world (or at least with the Wisconsin volleyball community). And if you happen to put any celebratory footage on YouTube, we may even add that to this post.    

Resch Reflections #3: "Thank You Seniors"

There's nothing more uplifiting than hearing a student section after a tough loss beginning a "thank you seniors" chant. 

And, of course, the seniors deserve every cheer they get. Win or lose, they've spent four years perfecting their skills and experiencing more than a few joys and disappointments. 

If the 2005 season seems like a long time ago, it's because it was. And yet, several of the seniors on the floor this weekend also played for state-qualifying  teams when they were freshman in 2005 (please let us know if we've missed anyone):

• Muskego's Tricia Foldy played in all three games and had two digs in Muskego's win over Watertown in the 2005 D1 state finals
• Muskego's Rachel Glisch had an ace and two digs in Muskego's win over Westosha Central in the 2005 D1 quarterfinals
• Pius XI's Caroline Langer had 19 kills in Pius's win over Germantown in the 2005 D1 state quarterfinals
• Waupun's Michielah Navis had 30 assists in Waupun's win over River Valley in the 2005 D2 state finals   
  

Resch Reflections #2: Teams That Won Sets from Teams that Won State

As we were thinking about all of the exciting matches that just occurred, we thought it might be interesting to identify the teams that took sets along the way from the eventual state champions.  

DIVISION 1

• Pius XI won a set against Tremper in the D1 finals
• Burlington won a set against Tremper in the sectional finals
• Westosha Central won a set against Tremper in the sectional semifinals

DIVISION 2

• Waupun won the D2 state championship without losing a set (Appleton Xavier pushed them to 30-28 in one set of the sectional finals)

DIVISION 3

• Cuba City won a set against Wisconsin Heights in the sectional finals

DIVISION 4

• Catholic Central won the D4 state championship without losing a set

Resch Reflections #1: Have There Ever Been This Many Rematches in D1?

There were eight total D1 matches at the Resch Center on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and three were rematches of 2007 Resch Center contests. Interestingly enough, the outcome went the other way in each instance. Check it out:

• The 2008 Watertown-West Bend East D1 quarterfinal was a rematch of the 2007 Watertown-West Bend East D1 final. Watertown won in 2007 and West Bend East in 2008.
• The 2008 D.C. Everest-Pius XI D1 quareterfinal was a rematch of the 2007 D.C. Everest-Pius XI D1 quarterfinal. D.C. Everest won in 2007 and Pius XI in 2008.
• The 2008 Kenosha Tremper-West Bend East D1 semifinal was a rematch of the 2007 Kenosha Tremper-West Bend East D1 quarterfinal. West Bend East won in 2007 and Kenosha Tremper in 2008.   

WVCA All-Tournament Team Announced

We're guessing WVCA All-State will be up soon, but the All-Tournament is there now. Here's who received honors:

DIVISION 1

• Samantha Minton, Pius XI
• Caroline Langer, Pius XI
• Abby Padlock, Kenosha Tremper
• Katie Ellerson, Muskego
• Tricia Foldy, Muskego
• Carmen Leitermann, D.C. Everest

DIVISION 2

• Michielah Navis, Waupun
• Brandi Dolgner, Waupun
• Bridget Nickel, Waupun
• Kate Acker, Catholic Memorial
• Kristen Ruchti, Brodhead
• Melissa Richie, Rice Lake

DIVISION 3

• Hillary Hughes, Wisconsin Heights
• Kalli Lochner, Wisconsin Heights
• Lauren Radix, Wisconsin Heights
• Anna Ruhland, Wisconsin Heights
• Kortney Morrin, Grantsburg
• Katie Morman, Shoreland Lutheran

DIVISION 4

• Carol Henney, Catholic Central
• Michelle Smith, Catholic Central
• Keena Schneider, Catholic Central
• Samantha Oldenburg, Catholic Central
• Sadie Schradle, Clayton
• Elizabeth Larson, Rosholt

We'll Link 'Em As We Find 'Em

Here are the stories we've found so far:

• Kenosha Tremper over Pius (Kenosha News and More Kenosha News)
• Waupun over Catholic Memorial (Beaver Dam Daily Citizen)
• Wisconsin Heights over Grantsburg (Wisconsin State Journal and Burnett County Sentinel)
• Catholic Central over Clayton (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Racine Journal Times and Burnett County Sentinel)

Editorial note: The purpose of this post is to provide links, not to comment one way or the other on the accuracy or insightfulness of the stories themselves. It's just a way for everyone who loves volleyball to see what everyone in the media is saying.   

So Many Questions, So Little Time Left to Wait for All the Answers

1. Will it be KT or XI in D1?
2. Will Waupun win their XIth or will CATMEM repeat 06?
3. Will Grantsburg go all Ws or will a W school reach the highest Heights? 
4. Will BCC make it easy as 1-2-3 or will the Bears win won for the NW?   

The State of Wisconsin will have answers to all of the above over the next several hours. We plan on doing very little posting today and very lot tomorrow. Stay tuned.

We're Just Saying

This is what we posted on January 1, 2008. 

Stories, Stories and More Stories

What an incredible day of volleyball. This post will include all the links we're able to locate so check back every so often:

• Catholic Central over Potosi (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Racine Journal Times)
• Catholic Memorial over Brodhead (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Clayton over Rosholt (Stevens Point Journal)
• Grantsburg over Newman Catholic (Burnett County Sentinel)
• Kenosha Tremper over West Bend East (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Pius XI over Muskego (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Waupun over Rice Lake (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Green Bay Press Gazette and Beaver Dam Daily Citizen)
• Wisconsin Heights over Shoreland Lutheran (Wisconsin State Journal)
• More to come

Kenosha Tremper and Pius XI Advance to D1 Final

Kenosha Tremper wins in three over West Bend East. Pius XI defeats Muskego 3-1. 

Undefeated v. Undeterred

The D3 finals are set. Undefeated Grantsburg will go for a perfect season when they take on Wisconsin Heights which has been undeterred in its quest for a title. Grantsburg defeated Newman Catholic in four and Wisconsin Heights beat Shoreland Lutheran in three.

D4 Finals Set: Bears v. Lady Hilltoppers

Catholic Central over Potosi in three. Clayton over Rosholt in four. Finals tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Just Tell Your Boss You're Multi-Tasking

We don't know a lot of the things we should know and we'll freely admit it. So it's encouraging when readers give us a heads up about something that everyone in the Wisconsin volleyball community probably already knows. Like the fact that you could be watching the state championships live right now on wiaa.tv.

So if you're at work right now, just tell your boss we said it was A-OK for you to watch the Clayton-Rosholt and Catholic Central-Potosi D4 matches. No seriously, your boss is a friend of ours and he or she will understand. By the way, at the moment, both Clayton and Catholic Central are up 2-0.

Eight Entered, Four Survived, All Should Be Incredibly, Incredibly Proud

Four outstanding matches marked the start of the D1 State Tournament on a rainy Thursday evening. Here are some of the stories behind all the shouting:

• West Bend East over Watertown in four (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Green Bay Press Gazette)
  
• Kenosha Tremper over Middleton in three (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Kenosha News and Wisconsin State Journal)
• Pius XI over D.C. Everest (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wausau Daily Herald)
• Muskego over Manitowoc Lincoln (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, MuskegoNOW and Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter)

Soon, Very Soon: The Calm Before the Kills

We've found and added to previews for Muskego, Wisconsin Heights, Rice Lake, Potosi. Watertown, Rosholt (another one), Kenosha Tremper (another one) and Grantsburg (another one) to our earlier preview post.

You'll also want to check out this overall preview of the girls championships that appeared in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

This is gonna get interesting really soon.

Will the Road to the Resch Still Be to the Resch in the Next Few Years?

According to this story in the Green Bay Press-Gazette, the girls state tournament will likely stay at the Resch Center in coming years. 

The story also includes a nice preview of what's about to happen in the aforementioned stadium over the next few days.

As Promised: State Preview News Central

The Stevens Point Journal said they would write more about Rosholt and they have. We're going to use this post to link to various state previews as we find them so please keep checking back. Thanks.

• Brodhead: "Brodhead's Desire Leads to First State Berth" (Wisconsin State Journal)
  
• D.C. Everest: "D.C. Everest Out to Bring Respect to Wisconsin Valley Conference" (Wausau Daily Herald)
• Grantsburg: "Pirates Take Bumpy Path to Green Bay" (Burnett County Sentinel)
• Grantsburg: "Pirates Prepare for State Tourney" (Burnett County Sentinel)
• Kenosha Tremper: "Scifres Has Tremper Back at State" (Kenosha News)
• Kenosha Tremper: "Trojans Look to Take Their Game Up a Notch at State" (Kenosha News)
  
• Manitowoc Lincoln: "Manitowoc Lincoln Facing Mirror Image" (Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter)
  
• Middleton: "Middleton Thriving Behind Freshman Setter Kasey Williams" (Wisconsin State Journal)
  
• Muskego: "Confident Muskego Set for State" (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Newman Catholic: "Unbeaten Opponent Doesn't Scare Newman" (Wausau Daily Herald)
• Potosi: "Potosi's Murray to Exit on High Note" (Wisconsin State Journal)
• Rosholt: "Rosholt's Elizabeth Larsen Brings More Than Talent" (Stevens Point Journal)
• Rosholt: "Rosholt Not Intimidated by Clayton" (Stevens Point Journal)
• Rice Lake: "Rice Lake Ready for a Big Test" (Eau Claire Leader Telegram)
• Shoreland Lutheran: "Pacers Gain State in an Unconventional Fashion" (Kenosha News)
  
• Watertown: "Watertown Back in Business" (Scroll to bottom of article in Wisconsin State Journal)
• Wisconsin Heights: "Wisconsin Heights Rises Again" (Wisconsin State Journal)
• More to Come