Burlington (35-10) won the Division 1 girls volleyball championship by outlasting River Falls in the final Saturday evening at the Resch Center in Green Bay.
After winning the first two sets of the match, the Demons needed a fifth and deciding set to put away the Wildcats by the game scores of 25-20, 25-15, 22-25, 17-25, 15-13.
Abby Koenen was impressive on the attack for the Demons. She recorded a match-high 26 kills with a .367 hitting percentage. Brooklyn VandeHei also contributed double figures in kills with 10. Kaley Blake distributed 51 assists, and Maddie Berezowitz served a match-high five of the Demons’ 11 service aces. Defensively, Samantha Naber recorded a team-high 16 digs.
Three Wildcats posted double figures in kills, led by Marissa Stockman with 19 and a .536 hitting percentage. Halle Olson and Emlly Banitt added 18 and 13 kills, respectively. Izzy Barr delivered 54 assists to guide the offense. On defense, Banitt was one of four players with double figures with a game-high 20.
Burlington captures its third State crown in its ninth appearance after finishing runner-up last season. The Demons’ previous two titles came back-to-back in 2011-12. River Falls (43-1) finishes runner-up its second State Tournament experience.
Division 2
Lakeside Lutheran (39-5) won the first State title in its program’s history, staging an epic comeback to defeat Luxemburg-Casco in the Division 2 State championship match Saturday at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis.
After dropping the first two sets of the match, the Warriors battle back to win the match by scores of 19-25, 13-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-10.
Amber Rowoldt had a record-setting performance to lead Warriors. She set a Division 2 record with 29 kills in the five sets. She also set the Division 2 tournament record with 48 kills. Sophia Collins also chipped in with 15 kills. Ellie Westrate led the team in assists with 43 to go with 10 digs on defense. Kaitlyn Gehler led the team in digs and service aces with 27 and five, respectively, and Kelsey Birschbach provided solid defense at the net with six block assists.
Luxemburg-Casco (41-9) had a trio of attackers recording double figures in kills. Cassie Schiltz led the way with 16, followed by Alexis Dorner with 13 and Peyton VandenBush with 12. Megan Cannon led all setters in the match with 49 assists. On defense, Molly Wotruba led the Spartans’ with 27 digs, and VandenBush and Holly Baierl each had team-leading six block assists.
The Warriors’ championship comes in their third State Tournament appearance, and the Spartans finish runner-up in their first-ever State experience.
Division 3
Lake Country Lutheran (45-5) captured the Division 3 State girls volleyball title with a 23-25, 25-12, 25-17, 25-19 victory over Regis Saturday at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis.
Brooke Anderson paced the Lightning offense with 26 kills and a gaudy .451 hitting percentage. Jennifer O’Keefe was also effective on the attack with 18 kills and a .433 hitting percentage. Lake Country Lutheran, as a team, posted a .298 attack percentage. helped by the setting efforts of Molly Howe and Soph