Demons, Toppers will be challenged this week
By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
They took care of business, and it really wasn’t close.
Both the Burlington and Catholic Central girls volleyball squads advanced to this week’s sectionals thanks to dominant, three-set victories on Saturday.
In a Division 1 sectional, host Burlington toyed with ninth-seeded Oregon, 25-8, 25-16, 25-12.
You know it’s a blowout when the home crowd and students are afraid to cheer. The final two games evoked silence from the Demon faithful.
“We started strong, winning the serve-pass game in the first set,” said Burlington coach Teri Leach. “It felt like we put pressure on Oregon and gained an edge that way. We continued to control the match, and it was a good win moving forward.”
Quinn Spieker led the team with 10 kills, followed by Ali Rueter with eight.
Senior Robyn Robers was stellar on the serve, finishing with five aces.
Reba Thomsen paced the squad with 12 assists, and Rueter added 10. Defensively, Sarra Webb and Spieker each tallied 11 assists.
Tay Lewis was big at the net with 2.5 blocks, and Phoebe Hozeska added two.
The Demons will have to wait until sectionals for a true test.
Burlington faces No. 4 Fort Atkinson Thursday at 6 p.m. at Kenosha Tremper High School. Afterward, second-seeded Tremper battles county rival Westosha Central, the No. 3.
The Demons are the No. 2 team in the state in Division 1, and Fort isn’t ranked.
Burlington has handled Central and Tremper with ease this season.
Central and Tremper have split this season, with the Trojans winning most recently.
Tremper is coming off a 3-0 victory over Waterford in Saturday’s regional final.
Central finished fourth in the SLC behind Burlington, Waterford and Union Grove.
Tremper is just above .500 at 18-14, but the Trojans have won four straight.
Since a loss to DSHA, the state’s top-ranked team, at the Westosha Central Smash, Burlington hasn’t lost a game in four matches.
Toppers mash Monticello
On Saturday in a WIAA Division 4 regional final in Monticello, the Lady Toppers knocked off the No. 1 seed, 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 25-21.
It was the school’s ninth straight regional championship.
“It’s truly a testament to the school’s tradition, amazing alumni and committed fan base,” said Central coach Mae-Mae Oberhofer.
Oberhofer said the Toppers played tight in game three, which led to the the loss. But the girls bounced back in game four.
“The team did a nice job settling back into our game and came up with some huge digs against Monticello’s dominant middle hitter,” she added.
Abby Tweet led with 13 kills, and Olivia Sobbe added 11.
Tweet added six aces.
Sobbe and Nicole Krause combined for 14 total blocks.
Sarah Gould paced the girls with 25 assists and 16 digs.
Catholic Central advances to play another No. 1, Hustisford, Thursday in Williams Bay.
On Oct. 23 at home, the Toppers crushed Williams Bay, 25-9, 25-17, 25-15.
The Falcons are 26-8 and won the Trailways South Conference championship.
In terms of like opponents, Hustisford beat Kenosha St. Joe’s, a team that beat Catholic Central.
-
-
-
-
-