By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
The numbers speak for themselves.
The Burlington girls volleyball squad was ranked No. 1 in Wisconsin in Division 1 most of the 2014 season.
Their final record of 42-4 was a dream for most teams. Burlington advanced to its fifth WIAA Division 1 state tournament in six years. The Lady Demons won the prestigious Sprawl tournament, breezed to a Southern Lakes Conference victory and won a match at state.
It must be noted that Burlington led, 2-0, before falling, 3-2, in its season-ending state semifinal loss. So the Demons were in the thick of it all until the end and were literally three game victories away from a third state title in four years.
For their incredible run, the Lady Demons have been named the 2014 Southern Lakes Newspapers Team of the Year.
The honor considers teams from Burlington, Catholic Central, Union Grove and Waterford high schools.
While the senior leadership was top-notch with Teagan Taylor, Robyn Robers, Leah Hofer, Sarra Webb and Lauren Pesick, the cupboard is far from bare.
Spieker signed on the dotted line to play at Division 1 North Carolina State in 2016.
Burlington returns a plethora of talent, including regulars Spieker, Rueter, Tay Lewis, Hozeska and setter Reba Thomsen.
“It’ll be awhile to get over this. It’s hard,” Leach said back in November moments after the team’s state loss. “One match doesn’t define you or your season or your career. You keep your head up and know all of the success you had, all the effort you put in to get you to this point, paid off. Only one teams leaves happy at the end of it all. Unfortunately, it’s not us.”
This was another stepping stone on Burlington’s journey back to the pinnacle of state volleyball. With eight more state-caliber games of valuable experience under their belts, the Demons will no doubt be one of Wisconsin’s favorites to win it all next season.
A team full of driven, ambitious, hard-working winners, the Lady Demons set their bar high and have no qualms talking about what they need to do to succeed. You don’t see that every day in 15- and 16-year-olds, let alone adults.
With Leach and co-coach Dan Lynch spearheading the state’s best volleyball program, and Leach’s unwavering sacrifice and dedication (she’s in her early 30s with four kids, works and runs the Burlington club team), it’s not a question of if, but when, the Demons are once again hoisting that gold ball.
The season had all the makings of a championship run.
Along with the Sprawl victory, Burlington was second place at the Joust, another major tournament chalked with the state’s elite squads.
The Demons beat eventual state champion Menomonee Falls, 2-0, in a tournament, and dominated state runner-up Muskego in the regular season as well.
Recipe for success
Leach did her best to explain her team’s hunger for more just before the state tournament.
“We have a lot of talent that could have been a successful team without having to work hard, but this group wants more than success,” she said via email Tuesday night. “They want to be at the top and know that an extra dedication and focus is required to reach that level.”
Senior Leah Hofer said the level of competition is so high, everyone must go hard every day in practice.
“At practice, it’s always a competition because you never know what’s going to happen. So many girls can play so many positions,” Hofer said back in November.
“We work as a team,” she said. “Sometimes you’re down, but we always find a way to fight back.”
Junior Ali Rueter, who will be one of the team’s top offensive threats next season as a senior, said it was fun to be around her teammates.
“On the court, we’ve been playing together awhile and we know how to pick each other up,” she said. “Off the court, we’re always having fun no matter what. Even after a loss, we all go to a player’s house and just hang out and have a good time.”
Leach, who also coaches the city’s club volleyball team in the offseason, said the team doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice “me” for “we”.
“They are such a dedicated bunch of young women with determination and commitment to success,” Leach said in an e-mail Tuesday. “The talent is obviously there, but it takes far more than talent to have had the continued success that they did.
“It’s dedication to the little things and sacrificing selfishness to collectively strive for a higher goal. I’ve been extremely impressed by this team’s ability to work as a unit – an 18-player deep unit at that. The girls were able to focus on team success rather than individual needs, which allowed greatness to happen.”
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