D.C. Everest faces defending champs at state
WESTON — D.C. Everest goes into the WIAA state volleyball tournament Thursday with something to prove.
"No one has really heard of D.C. Everest. This is our first time in six years going to state," said senior outside hitter Regan Stefan, who leads the Evergreens with 395 kills. "But we're just going in with as much heart and mental toughness as we can. ... They don't know about us yet, and we can't wait to make them know about us."
The Evergreens will face the Divine Savior Holy Angels in an opening round matchup. The two schools have become common postseason opponents in a number of sports over the past few years.
The Evergreens fell to the Dashers in the Division 1 championship game in both the 2014 state girls soccer tournament and the 2015 girls basketball tournament.
Now Everest faces the Dashers, the defending state champions, in a Division 1 state quarterfinal at the Resch Center. The matchup is set for a 4:30 p.m. tip and the Evergreens (31-7) head in as the underdog against a Dashers team that finished the season ranked second in Division 1 in the Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association state poll.
Everest is making its first state appearance since 2009 while DSHA is making its second straight and fifth in the past seven years.
The Dashers (43-5) are led by senior outside hitter Annie Ertz, a Bradley University commit who has 574 kills and 1,320 attacks this year. Setter Maddie Yoss has 1,321 assists and senior right side hitter Katie Arnold has 317 kills.
"We just have to play our game," Stefan said. "Our defense has to be there, we have to make sure we put our blocks up and just play our quick offense and our quick defense. Through all of our practices we know we have what it takes to win. We just have to make sure that we stay disciplined and we utilize everything — all of our shots, all of our hits. We have to utilize everything Thursday."
Sophomore outside hitter Jenna Rombalski has 248 kills for the Evergreens, while Caroline Hehir and Natalie Mohring have added 484 and 445 assists, respectively. Senior libero Allyssa Frahm leads the Evergreens with 474 digs, while Stefan has added 361.
Everest is coming off one of its best defensive efforts of the season in a sweep of Marshfield in a sectional championship game at Wausau West.
"I think Allyssa played out of her mind that night. She really saw what she is capable of now," Everest coach Rita Jasurda said. "She just looked so comfortable on the court and we didn't see that in our (sectional semifinal) matchup with Memorial. But against Marshfield she just shined defensively.
"Regan has always been strong defensively and so has Jenna. But really what has been improving by leaps and bounds is our right side defense," Jasurda said. "I think we went five straight points against Marshfield in which they were really attacking our right side (for a kill) and that didn't happen."
Jasurda said Everest's defense will be tested Thursday.
"We were watching film of last year's (state) championship game and analyzing it. They have the same outside hitter (Ertz) and I'm sure she's just that much stronger (this year)," Jasurda said. "We know that they run a faster offense than our conference competitors do so we're adjusting some of our drills this week to compensate for that."
It is just among the tests that an underdog Everest squad faces Thursday.
"I think we accept the challenge and are ready to face it head on," Everest senior Angela Fischer said. "We're going to do our best to make sure our offense is on and that our defense beats their offense. We have a quick team and strong hitters. We are a very dynamic team and not dependent on one athlete."
Tim Johnson can be reached at 715-845-0731 or at timothy.johnson@gannettwisconsin.com. Find him on Twitter @timmyjo11.