From the WIAA —
State champions in five girls’ divisions were crowned at the 2025 State Volleyball Champions Saturday at the Resch Center.
Last year’s runner-up and second-seeded Hamilton (39-8) ended the reign of three-time defending champion Divine Savior Holy Angels (44-4), the #1-seed, following a 28-26, 25-20, 25-22 triumph in the Division 1 title game.
The Chargers were ignited by three attackers compiling double figures in kills for a .238 hitting percentage. Aubrey Hicks led the team with 14 kills, and Claire Baldwin and Faith Benson each added 11 kills. Brooke Baldwin assisted on 30 of the team’s 42 kills to lead all setters in the game. The Chargers were stout on the defensive end led by Emily Zgonc with 20 digs and Grace Wellens with nine blocks, including one solo and eight assists.
The Dashers’ balanced hitting attack was led by Maddie Brown with 10 kills. Tegan Loechler added nine kills and Callie Carr had eight. Kaitlyn Jones and Loechler guided the offense with 21 and 14 assists, respectively. Defensively, four players were in double figures in digs, led by Gail Buckner’s 19.
Hamilton won its second championship in the program’s fifth appearance in the tournament. Divine Savior Holy Angels finished runner-up participating in its 14th State Tournament.
In Division 2, top-seeded Sauk Prairie (31-5) outlasted second-seeded Grafton (28-11) in the title game by scores of 25-27, 25-19, 25-17, 22-25, 15-11.
After dropping the first set, the Eagles gained a 2-1 advantage in the match before falling in game four. They never trailed in the deciding fifth set and gained control of the outcome with a 7-1 run to build a 14-7 advantage before closing out the game.
Mallory Hartwig was the leading attacker for the Eagles, collecting a team-high 22 kills, and she had solid support from Kendall Strutz and Lila Shadewald with 12 kills apiece. Alaina Kraemer was the leading setter with a game-high 34 assists with Leah Allen contributing an additional 15 assists. Kraemer also contributed from the service line with five aces. Defensively, Hartwig and Allen led the team in digs with 24 and 20, respectively, and the Eagles were formidable at the net as well with 14 blocks, including eight by Shadewald.
The Black Hawks took the game to the limit despite a .109 hitting percent. Paige Proefrock was busy on the attack with a game-high 24 kills on 81 attempts. Grace Tilley and Addison Lempke chipped in with 13 and 11 kills apiece. Both Ava Dotson and Paige Arentz handled the setter duties, distributing 24 and 18 assists, respectively. Khiah King and Arentz were productive when serving with five and four aces, respectively.
Sauk Prairie is a champion for the first time in its fourth State Tournament appearance, and Grafton finishes runner-up in its first-ever experience at State.
Last year’s Division 4 champion Manitowoc Lutheran (35-9) moved up to Division 3 to claim its second consecutive championship with a 25-20, 24-26, 25-23, 25-21 win over top-seeded Watertown Luther Prep (37-4) in the tourney final.
The third-seeded Lady Lancers were led offensively by Ava Stuebs and Marissa Mehlhorn, who combined for 38 kills, leading to a 57-36 kills advantage over the Phoenix in the game. Stuebs collected a game-high 21 kills to go with a pair of aces, and Mehlhorn recorded 17 kills and two aces. Makiah Krause and Sallieann Burrows shared the setting duties, each handing out 21 assists. Defensively, five different Lady Lancers notched double-figures in digs with Stuebs and Mehlhorn leading the way with 12 apiece, and Brooke Duveneck had six blocks, including two solos and four assists.
Lorelei Candler was the Phoenix’s top offensive weapon. She recorded a team-high 10 kills and six aces while handing out 12 assists. Lydia Vasold led the team in assists with 18. Elizabeth Kieselhorst compiled a game-high 22 digs, and Emma Neyhart was credited with seven block assists to lead the Phoenix defensively.
In its third State Tournament appearance, Manitowoc Lutheran won its second championship. Living Word Lutheran finished runner-up in the program’s first-ever experience at State.
Heritage Christian (39-6) captured its first State volleyball championship with the three-set sweep of over second-seeded Regis (32-10) 25-21, 25-13, 25-10 in the Division 4 championship game.
Trailing by two points, the Patriots reeled off six straight points to win the first set and remained in control the remainder of the game. Addie Graebert led Heritage Christian’s offensive attack with 12 kills and a .476 hitting percentage to contribute to the Patriots .307 hitting percentage for the game. Chelsea Poskocil added nine kills. Ainsley Ellis directed the offense, dishing out a game-high 31assists. Ellis and Poskocil also contributed from the service line with three aces. Nina Dorger led all defenders in digs with 12, and Graebert was credited with four blocks.
The Ramblers were held to a .042 hitting percentage for the game and found it difficult to score off the attack, especially in the final two sets. Maya Redenauer was the team’s leader in kills with eight, and Lily Lewis, Ashlee Dykes and Savannah Mohr each recorded four kills apiece. Izzy Reichert recorded a team-high 20 assists. On defense, Hallie Albright, Dykes and Reichert each had nine digs to pace the team.
Heritage Christian won the championship in its first appearance in the State Tournament. In its ninth State experience, Regis finished runner-up for the second season in a row.
In Division 5, third-seeded Rib Lake (33-8) defeated top-seeded Newman Catholic (28-17) 24-26, 25-18, 25-19, 25-23 in the championship game.
After falling in the opening set, the Redman won the following three sets to clinch the victory with a hitting percentage of .152 to go with 10 serve aces. The collected 69 digs and seven blocks on the defensive side of the net, which limited the Fighting Cardinals to a .119 hitting percentage.
Madelyn Anderson delivered a game-high 11 kills for the Fighting Cardinals, and Megan Komarek added 10 to lead the hitting attack. Tessa Weik recorded a team-high 19 assists, and Madilyn Blomberg chipped in with 12 assists. Defensively, Tahlia Scheithauer and Weil led the team with 15 digs, and Megan Komarek and Camryn Glenzer provided the first line of defense at the net with four blocks each.
Camille Sobolewski was a standout for the Fighting Cardinals with a game-high 22 kills, and Lauren Thiel added double-figures in kills with 13. Lexi Rice navigated the offense with a game-high 32 assists with Kate Kerns adding 15 assists. Maddy Keene led the team in digs with 15.
Rib Lake won the program’s first State title in its second appearance in the tournament. Newman Catholic finished runner-up in its 15th State experience.