Newman Catholic’s Paige Guld (left) bumps to a teammate, and Ashley Jankowski tips a ball over the net for a point as the Cardinals swept Prentice in a Division 4 semifinal at the WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament in Green Bay on Friday. (Photos by Paul Lecker/Wausau Pilot & Review)
By Paul Lecker
Wausau Pilot & Review
GREEN BAY – The Newman Catholic volleyball team will shoot for another state championship after a dominating performance in a Division 4 semifinal match at the 2023 WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament at the Resch Center on Friday morning.
The Cardinals (31-12) won 25-21, 25-10, 25-15, to advance to the Division 4 state title match on Saturday at 9 a.m. against Wonewoc-Center (29-2). Newman Catholic will be playing for the fifth state championship in program history to go along with four in a row the Cardinals won between 2013-16. Wonewoc-Center overcame a two-set deficit to beat Fall River in the other D-4 semifinal.
“I really loved the way they stayed disciplined, they were engaged and staying aggressive on the serving line,” Newman Catholic coach Betty Lange said. “They had really, really great net play and played together as a team. They love each other so much, they’re out there giving it their all for everyone and it’s really beautiful to see.”
Prentice (33-9) started strong, taking a 16-11 lead after a block kill by Kayla Gillett and an ace by Lydia Harding, before Newman Catholic was able to settle in and forge ahead.
Newman used a 9-2 run to go ahead 22-19 and were able to finish off the win on an ace by Paige Guld and a kill by Callie Sobolewski.
The Cardinals’ turnaround proved pivotal going forward.
“It took us a little while to settle in,” Lange said. “It’s a different environment. When we started running our offense the way that we could, that took them (Prentice) out of their game. They hung in there even though they were down and kept fighting back.”
The second set was never in doubt as Newman dominated from the start. Sobolewski had eight of her team-high 19 kills, including five in an 8-0 run on Guld’s serve, that pushed the Cardinals ahead 21-8.
Two kills by Ashley Jankowski and a service error finished off the win for the Cardinals, 25-10.
Prentice hung around for the early part of the third set, leading 11-10 at one point, before the Cardinals put an end to it.
A kill by Soblolewski tied it and sparked a 12-2 run for Newman that also included kills by Lily Shields, Madison Keene and Jankowski. Two Prentice errors gave the Cardinals the final two points and the sweep.
Guld finished with 24 assists, Shields had 14 assists and 13 digs, and Sobolewski (23 digs) and Jankowski (22 digs) led the Newman defense.
2023 WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament
Nov. 2-4, at Resch Center, Green Bay
Thursday, Nov. 2
Division 1 Quarterfinals
No. 2 Oconomowoc (40-3) 3, No. 7 Burlington (31-10) 0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-13)
No. 3 Appleton North (33-7) 3, No. 6 Franklin (29-15) 0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-15)
No. 1 Milwaukee Divine Savior Holy Angels (45-1) 3, No. 8 River Falls (26-14) 0 (25-12, 25-6, 25-11)
No. 4 Sussex Hamilton (31-11) 3, No. 5 Waunakee (38-9) 0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-12)
Friday, Nov. 3
Division 4 Semifinals
No. 1 Wonewoc-Center (29-2) 3, No. 4 Fall River 2 (30-11) 2 (23-25, 17-25, 25-23, 29-27, 15-7)
No. 2 Wausau Newman Catholic (31-12) 3, No. 3 Prentice (33-9) 0 (25-21, 25-10, 25-15)
Division 3 Semifinals
No. 1 Howards Grove (29-4) vs. No. 4 Neenah St. Mary Catholic (30-4), 11:30 a.m.
No. 2 St. Croix Falls (34-2) vs. No. 3 Cuba City (30-3), 11:30 a.m.
Division 2 Semifinals
No. 1 Appleton Xavier (43-3) vs. No. 4 Rice Lake (28-8), 2 p.m.
No. 2 Pewaukee (37-12) vs. No. 3 McFarland (35-10), 2 p.m.
Division 1 Semifinals
No. 2 Oconomowoc (40-3) vs. No. 3 Appleton North (33-7), 7:30 p.m.
No. 1 Milwaukee Divine Savior Holy Angels (45-1) vs. No. 4 Sussex Hamilton (38-9), 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 4
Championship Matches
Division 4: No. 1 Wonewoc-Center (29-2) vs. No. 2 Wausau Newman Catholic (31-12), 9 a.m.
Division 3, 11:30 a.m.
Division 2, 2:30 p.m.
Division 1, 7:30 p.m.
