Volleyball Champions Crowned Saturday at Resch Center
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Champions in four girls’ divisions and a boys’ division were crowned State champions at the 2023 State Boys & Girls Volleyball Championships Saturday.
Top-seeded Divine Savior Holy Angels successfully defended its title in Division 1, winning its second straight crown by defeating Oconomowoc in the championship game 25-14, 25-20, 27-25, 22-25, 15-8.
Madison Quest and Sophia Wendlick accounted for 46 of the Dashers 52 kills in the match with 24 and 22, respectively, contributing to a .182 hitting percentage for the match. Jordan Czajkowski dished out 40 assist to lead the team. Quest also tallied a game-high five service aces. Defensively, the Dashers were formidable at the net with 16 blocks, which limited the Raccoons to a .102 hitting percentage. The blocks total fell one short of the Division 1 State Tournament record for five sets. Lilly Cesarz had nine blocks and Caroline Harris added eight. Olivia Durst led four players with double figures in digs with 16.
Anna Bjork and Olivia Kwiatkowski led the Oconomowoc hitting attack with 18 and 17 kills, respectively, and Marlee Sivak contributed 11. Lilly Wagner handed out a game-high 48 assists. Kwiatkowski and Bjork led the defensive effort for the Raccoons with 20 digs and eight blocks, respectively.
Divine Savior Holy Angels wins its fifth State Championship in the program’s 12th tournament appearance. Oconomowoc finishes runner-up In its 10th State appearance.
Defending champion Xavier (45-3), the #1 seed in the bracket, won its second straight Division 2 crown by downing third-seeded McFarland (36-11) 25-17, 25-13, 25-10.
The Hawks lethal hitting attack posted a .341 hitting percentage for the match. A balanced arsenal was led by Madison Daley with nine kills; Annika Kowalski added eight; and Halle Vande Hey chipped in with eight to lead the Hawks. Mariah Potter distributed a game-high 29 assists. Belle Shea led the defensive effort for Xavier with a game-high 16 digs, and Daley recorded five block assists.
The Spartans were held to a .074 hitting percentage. Julie Ackley led the hitting attack with eight kills. Ava Dean was the team leader in assists with 20. She also paced the defense with eight digs.
Xavier’s back-to-back titles represent their total number of championships won in its six State appearances. McFarland finished runner-up in its fifth experience in the State Tournament.
Second-seeded St. Croix Falls (36-2) dethroned top-seeded and four-time defending champion Howards Grove (30-5) 17-25, 25-23, 25-18, 24-26, 15-13 in the championship game in Division 3.
The Saints clawed back from an 11-8 deficit in the fifth match to capture the title. Kelsey Cooper led the team in kills with 28, and Lucy Belisle and Lydia Petersen each chipped in with 16 and 14 kills to fuel the Saints attack. St. Croix Falls posted a .201 hitting percentage. Catherine Williams distributed 50 assists, and Britta Olson served a game-high five aces. Ayla Schmidt led the team in digs with 30 in the match.
The Tigers compiled a .191 hitting percentage in the match. Olivia Baierl led Howards Grove with 28 kills, and Mallory Gozdzeiwski chipped in with 17. Kamryn Kaminski led the team in assists with 49. Defensively, Elle Kennedy recorded the team high in digs with 25, and Gozdziewski and Ashlyn Graf contributed with five blocks.
St. Croix Falls wins the program’s first State championship in its third State appearance. Howards Grove finished runner-up in its eighth State appearance
Top-seeded Wonewoc-Center (30-2) overcame a two-set deficit to defeat second-seeded Newman Catholic (31-13) 21-25, 18-25, 25-20, 25-17, 15-8 in the Division 4 championship match.
Kelsey Justman led the Wolves with 34 kills and set a Division 4 record for the most kills in a State Tournament with 69, eclipsing the old mark of 67. Bryn Ertel also recorded double figures in kills with 17. Jaelyn Stowe led all setters with 52 assists, which ranks third on the all-time list in Division 4. Defensively, Estanna Graewin recorded a game-high 37 digs, which set a Division 4 record for five sets.
Callie Sobolewski led three Fighting Cardinal hitters in double figures with 19 kills. Ashley Jankowski and Lily Shields added 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Paige Guld dealt out a team-high 34 assists, and Shields contributed with a game-high 25 digs on the defensive side of the net.
Wonewoc-Center recorded a .204 hitting percentage in the match, compared to a .102 percentage for Newman Catholic.
The Wolves win the program’s first State title in their third State Tournament appearance, and the Fighting Cardinals finished runner-up in their 13th State experience.
Top-seeded Middleton (32-3) won the boys championship by outlasting second-seeded Arrowhead (39-6) 25-18, 21-25, 25-22, 24-26, 15-6 in the title match.
The Cardinals’ offense was ignited by three attackers. Caden Van Buren led all hitters with 18 kills, and Ambrose Engling and Teddy Young each had 16 in contributing to the team’s .241 hitting percentage for the match. Brody Stuttgen assisted on 53 of the team’s 59 kills. On defense, Lucas Rosa and Young led the team in digs with 18 and 12, respectively, and Hudson Sweitzer recorded seven block assists.
Charlie Andorfer and Luke Heberlein accounted for 27 of the Warhawks’ 44 kills, contributing to a .102 hitting percentage with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Ezekiel Jalan led the squad in assists with 25, and Carson Bloedow added 11. Nikko Javier recorded 21 digs in the match, and Ethan Hein made five blocks to lead the defense.
It’s Middleton’s first State championship, which comes in their 14th appearance in the tourney. Arrowhead finished runner-up in its 10th State experience.
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
