By Jennifer Eisenbart
Sports Editor
For most of the weekend at the Lynn LaPorte Sprawl in West Bend, the Burlington High School girls volleyball team played like the best team in the state.
Only in the championship game did the Demon girls come up short.
BHS lost in the Sprawl championship 25-17, 25-19 to Divine Savior Holy Angels, finishing second in what is widely regarded as a mid-season state tournament.
The Demons played the final match without libero Morganne Longoria, who tweaked a back injury and needed to sit.
“We did very well,” said coach Dan Lynch. “The team’s played well together. Sometimes we run a 5-1, sometimes we run a 6-2.
“It’s nice to be able to go back and forth.”
The Demons held up against some of the toughest competition in the state. In opening-round pool play Friday, BHS beat West Allis Hale 25-19, 25-12, then Middleton 25-18, 25-11 and Watertown – the team BHS beat in the state semifinals last year – 26-24, 25-18.
On Saturday, the Demons started the day by beating Milwaukee Pius 25-19, 25-16, then downed West Bend East in three sets, 17-25, 25-15, 15-7.
To reach the championship match, Burlington beat Kettle Moraine Lutheran 25-13, 15-25, 18-16.
To give some idea of the level of competition, BHS is ranked No. 1 in Division 1 in the latest Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association poll, while DSHA is second, Pius third and West Bend East tied for fifth.
Kettle Moraine Lutheran is third in Division 2.
Lynch said the Demons did a good job without Longoria in the lineup against DSHA, but it wasn’t the same.
“The kids went in and played hard and did well for her, but it’s not Morganne,” said Lynch of Longoria, who has given a verbal commitment to Valparaiso women’s volleyball. “It’s leadership and experience.”
“We’re just hoping she gets healthy,” the coach added.
Fellow senior Ciara Capezio continued to pace the Demons offensively, finishing the tournament with 60 kills. But freshman Quinn Spieker was close behind with 52, and four other players were in double digits.
Senior setter Kaysie Shebeneck continued her strong play as well, picking up 146 assists, 30 digs and 15 kills. And Longoria still led BHS with 38 digs, while Spieker pitched in 29 and Capezio 24.
The Demons had just one match scheduled this week, and that was Tuesday’s Southern Lakes Conference matchup with Lake Geneva Badger.
Burlington won the match, 25-9, 25-15, 25-14. Capezio finished with eight kills, while Spieker added six and Shebeneck four.
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