Lady Toppers host Martin Luther, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.
By Troy Sparks
Sports Correspondent
You can argue that the girls volleyball schedule for the Burlington Catholic Central team is a bit unfair going into the first two weeks of the season.
The Hilltoppers played their first two contests on the road with three more scheduled away from home. So far, CC has played up to their expectations.
A two-day tournament to start the season at UW-Whitewater left the Hilltoppers with a 5-3 record and a three-game winning streak. The Hilltoppers won their fourth in a row in a match at Williams Bay on Aug. 28 to begin the week with a 6-3 record.
Williams Bay gave CC a run for its money and making them work hard for the dual match. The Hilltoppers survived in a four-set win.
The Bulldogs didn’t give the Hilltoppers any breaks in the first game. The home team coasted to a 25-10 win.
“Williams Bay played great the first set and blew us out,” CC coach Wayne Schultz said.
In the second game, CC woke up and controlled the game to their advantage. The Hilltoppers rebounded from a first game letdown to defeat the Bulldogs 25-16.
The last two games were close. BCC maintained their lead in the third game. Williams Bay kept their deficit within reach. The Hilltoppers pulled away with a 25-22 victory.
With CC ahead 2-1, Game 4 was crucial for Williams Bay to stay alive and force a fifth and deciding game. It didn’t swing in the Bulldogs’ favor as the Hilltoppers won the match 25-22.
“We weathered the storm and started playing with them (beginning) in the second set,” Schultz said.
There were nine aces in the match for CC. Sophomore setter Ella Shaw, senior outside hitter Grace Spiegelhoff and senior middle blocker Miriam Ward each had three aces. Spiegelhoff shared the team lead in kills with sophomore outside hitter Sammie Sieb. They had 13 apiece.
Sophomore libero Grace Antifinger led three CC players with 25 digs. Freshman outside hitter Kelsee Weiss finished with 19 and Sieb added 17.
Senior captain and setter Elizabeth Klein had 22 assists for the Hilltoppers. Ward led the team with four blocks and Weiss had two of her own.
Runners compete at county invite
The Burlington Catholic Central cross country boys and girls teams began their season competing in the Racine County Invite on Aug. 25.
There were no team scores recorded. The Toppers competed against other runners in their grade level on the 4,000-meter course.
In the freshman girls race, Morgan Ramsey led the Toppers with a time of 18 minutes, 45 seconds. Summer Peterson was second for Catholic Central in 20:13 and Kaleigh Lynch was the third team runner to cross the finish line in 20:40. Evander Craig finished in 17:33 in the freshman boys race and Sam Henderson’s time in the race was 14:59. All of the runners earned medals.
At a meet at the Retreat Center in Burlington, Aug. 30, Catholic Central came out on top with 29 team points, defeating Kenosha Christian Life (64). Racine St. Catherine’s and Cudahy/St. Francis had incomplete teams.
Ramsey was second in the 5,000-meter race in 22:21. Four other Catholic Central runners finished in the top 10. Lynch was fourth in 24:13. Rachel Czerwinski crossed the line in sixth place at 24:55. Ellie Nevin (25:25) was eighth, Peterson had a time of 25:53 (ninth place) and Emma Klein was 10th (26:14). Bernadette Frisch came in 12th at 27:10.
The Catholic Central boys team scored 59 points to finish second behind Cudahy/St.Francis (30). St. Catherine’s and Christian Life didn’t have full teams.
Henderson made the top five with his second-place finish. His time was 18:24. Conall Lynch was 10th in 21:32. Craig was 11th with a time of 21:33 and Paul Nevin’s 14th place time was 23:33.
“Morgan Ramsey and Sam Henderson are doing an awesome job as the team’s lead runners,” Catholic Central coach Rick Koceja said. “Emma Klein, Rachel Czerwinski, Ellie Nevin and Conall Lynch are displaying positive leadership to the newcomers. Freshmen runners Evander Craig, Kaleigh Lynch, Summer Peterson and Bernadette Frisch continue to improve in workouts and in competition.”
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