Newman Catholic wins fourth straight title
ASHWAUBENON – The Newman Catholic volleyball team moved as a group to the west end of the Resch Center to pose in front of its fan section for a post-match photo Saturday morning.
Each Cardinals player and coach held four fingers aloft for the group shot and that simple hand gesture summarized the program’s recent dominance.
The Cardinals swept Clayton in the WIAA Division 4 championship game and became just the second team in the tournament’s history to win four straight state titles. The Cardinals’ 25-22, 25-10, 25-13 win capped a 34-7 season and a playoff run in which Newman Catholic did not drop a set.
RELATED: Newman Catholic wins semifinal, one victory from history
RELATED:Athens drops heartbreaker in state semifinal
RELATED:Merrill volleyball loses to state powerhouse
Waupun is the only other team to win more than three straight WIAA titles as the program won five consecutive championships from 2001-05. The Cardinals also reached the title game in 2009 and ’12 and have made eight state appearances in the past nine seasons.
“This has kind of been a legacy that has been passed on from team’s way before (this group),” Cardinals senior Mariah Whalen said. “We have them to thank for building this program, passing along that legacy and helping to build that’s here right now.”
Whalen had 26 killswhile Rylie Vaughn added 21 assists, 10 digs and eight kills for the Cardinals, who ended the season with an 11-match winning streak.
Kenzie Krach added 14 assists and five digs for the Cardinals, who also swept Clayton in the 2012 state championship game.
Selena Levendoski had 11 kills for the Bears, who finished with a 27-10 record. McKenna Larson and Alison Leslie added nine and eight kills, respectively.
Marissa Gilbertson led Clayton with 29 assists.
Whalen had 12 kills in the opening set as the Cardinals scored eight of the final 10 points to grab the early momentum. Vaughn had 11 assists and five digs as Newman Catholic rallied from a three-point deficit late in the set.
Vaughn had a service ace to give the Cardinals the lead for good in the opening set at 21-20. The Cardinals had 10 aces in the match with Whalen and Barkholz both leading the way with four. Vaughn had two.
“I think the aggressive serving (was a difference) and we just turned it up a notch,” Vaughn said of the Cardinals taking control of the match.
The Cardinals rolled off six straight points to open the second set and never trailed to after the third point of the third set.
“I think winning the first game definitely helped with nerves,” said the Cardinals senior libero Breck Wcisel, who finished with five digs. “You have that cushion and that comfort of having a game behind you and were able just to focus (more) let the little things go and just push forward.”
Whalen had four kills in the opening six-point run of the second set and Clayton never got closer than five points of the lead.
“I think we lost momentum there at the beginning of the second set and it’s hard to dig yourself out of hole like that, especially at the stage we are on,” Clayton coach Sadie Schradle said. “
Newman Catholic had four hitting errors in the opening set and none over the final two sets of the match.
Mariah Whalen finished with a Division 4 state tournament record for a three-set match with a .632 hitting percentage. The Cardinals hit .467 as a team.
“We just saw probably the best match that our team has played (this year),” Cardinals coach Betty Lange said.
Clayton had 16 kills in the opening set and just 17 over the final two. The key was the Cardinals’ ability to contain Levendoski and Leslie. The two middle blockers entered the tournament with a combined 505 kills this season.
“We knew that there offense came through their middle (blockers). Their two middles were very dynamic, came to the ball fast and had a very fast finish,” Lange said. “We just talked about doing a little bit of bunch blocking and pinch blocking so we could put up a triple (block) when we needed to against them. It just forced (Levendoski and Leslie) to see six hands up against them.”
Tim Johnson: 715-845-0731, or timothy.johnson@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter @timmyjo11