Area volleyball teams set for sectionals
WESTON – Just how dominant has the Newman Catholic volleyball team been in the playoffs over the past four years?
The Cardinals have lost a total of eight sets in 23 matches since the start of the WIAA 2013 postseason.
Newman Catholic did not drop a set in three Division 4 regional matches this year and is two wins away from a fourth straight trip to the state tournament.
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The Cardinals look to take the next step to Green Bay with a sectional semifinal matchup against Columbus Catholic in a sectional semifinal Thursday at Assumption.
Newman Catholic is one of five Wausau-area programs still alive in the tournament. D.C. Everest faces Marshfield in a Division 1 sectional semifinal in Stevens Point and Merrill faces West Salem in a Division 2 sectional matchup.
Wittenberg-Birnamwood and Athens are both in Division 3 sectionals. The Chargers face Oconto in Shawano while Athens squares off against Stratford in Marathon.
Thursday’s winners advance to the sectional title game Saturday.
Here is a closer look at the remaining area teams.
DIVISION 1
D.C. EVEREST
About the Evergreens: The top-seeded Evergreens are closing in on a return trip to the WIAA state tournament and 10th in the program's history. Everest advanced to the sectional semifinals with a sweep of Hudson in a regional final ... Everest heads into Thursday with a 34-2-1 record and has not lost since Oct. 1 when Menomonee Falls pulled out a win in a weekend tournament … Everest beat Marshfield in a sectional title game last fall and also in two regular season games in Wisconsin Valley Conference play. Everest won in four sets on Sept. 22 and in a sweep on Oct. 8 ... Regan Stefan leads Everest with 388 kills while Jenna Rombalski has 374 kills … Caroline Hehir and Natalie Mohring have 543 and 485 assists, respectively. Teilyn Schubring has a team-high 348 digs and Stefan has 322.
DIVISION 2
MERRILL
About the Bluejays: The top-seeded Bluejays face West Salem in a battle of No. 1 seeds ... Merrill is seeking its eighth state tournament appearance and third since 2012. Merrill advanced to the sectional semifinals with regional wins over Lakeland, Northland Pines and Medford. The win over Medford came in five sets in the regional title game ... Merrill enters Thursday with a 27-9-3 record and the only loss in October came against D.C. Everest in the final game of the Wisconsin Valley Conference regular season ... Katie Zelinski leads the Bluejays with 327 kills and Morgan Wardall has 320 ... Taylor Cichy has a team-best 457 digs, and Bonnell has 301. Merrill junior Lindsey Casper leads the Bluejays with 538 assists.
DIVISION 3
ATHENS
About the Bluejays: Athens heads into the sectional semifinal that is a matchup between a pair of top-seeded teams. Athens beat the Tigers in five sets on Oct. 11 in a Marawood Conference crossover matchup in Stratford .... Athens' WIAA state tournament appearance came in 1976 when the Bluejays reached the Class C championship game ... The Bluejays, 20-19 overall, advanced to Thursday with regional wins over Thorp, Stanley-Boyd and Abbotsford ... Athens junior Kaitlyn Brooks was a unanimous selection to the all-Marawood team and averaged 4.86 kills per set in conference play. Athens' Bernice Lira and Kenadi Diedrich were both all-conference honorable mention selections.
WITTENBERG-BIRNAMWOOD
About the Chargers: The Central Wisconsin Conference-8 champions are a No. 1 seed and advanced to the sectional semifinal matchup with wins over Iola-Scandinavia, Amherst and Shiocton ... Wittenberg-Birnamwood has never won a sectional title in the program's history and enters Thursday with a 35-7 record. Wittenberg-Birnamwood is riding a nine-game match winning streak ...Chargers senior Taylor Nier leads the team in both kills (566) and digs (356) ... Madison Bushman has a team-high 980 assists and is averaging nine a set ... Junior Lauren Bushman has 268 kills this fall and also leads the team with 70 ace serves.
DIVISION 4
NEWMAN CATHOLIC
About the Cardinals: The top-seeded Cardinals enter the sectional semifinals with a 33-7-1 record and has won six straight matches. Newman Catholic's last loss came against Neenah and Xavier on Oct. 1 during the Neenah Invational ... Newman Catholic is after the program's ninth state tournament appearance and eighth since 2008. The Cardinals advanced to the sectional semifinals with regional sweeps of Wisconsin Valley Lutheran, Greenwood and Loyal .. Mariah Whalen leads the Cardinals with 594 kills and a .423 hitting percentage. Riley Vaughn has 279 kills and has a team-high in both assists (554) and digs (302) ... Cardinals sophomore Kenzie Krach has 464 assists and senior Breck Wcisel has 269 digs.