Chesse & Volleyball Post on Division 4 Predictions

The following post was on the Cheese & Volleyball blog today:


Will the Macks Repeat in 2010? A Preview of Girls Division Four Sectional One

CONTENDERS

Regional A: Bayfield, Drummond, Lac Courte Oreilles, Northwood, Shell Lake, Siren, Solon Springs, South Shore

Regional B: Birchwood, Bruce, Butternut, Mellen, Mercer, Prentice, Rib Lake, Winter

Regional C: Clayton, Cornell, Frederic, Lake Holcombe, Luck, New Auburn, Prairie Farm, Turtle Lake

Regional D: Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran, Gilman, Granton, Greenwood, Lincoln, Loyal, McDonell Central

2009 RECAP

McDonell Central over Rib Lake in three.

2010 RANDOM NOTES

Regional A

• Bayfield Junior Carrie Nelson was first-team Indianhead all-conference last season and senior Emily Nourse was honorable mention.
• Drummond Senior Samantha Walters was honorable mention Indianhead all-conference in 2009.
• Lac Courte Oreilles Senior Ricki Lynn Belille should be a key contributor.
• Northwood Senior Deana Scheller was first-team Lakeland East all-conference in 2009.
  
• Shell Lake They graduated their two 2009 Lakeland West all-conference players and we don't have much information on the Lakers beyond that.
  
• Siren Senior Carley Emery was honorable mention Lakeland West all-conference last season. They'll also look from key contributions from fellow senior Ashley Guevera.
  
• Solon Springs Senior Ceaira DeBier was honorable mention Indianhead all-conference in 2009.
  
• South Shore The Cardinals will likely turn to senior Lindsey Olson and sophomore Emily Gustafson. Olson was first-team Indianhead all-conference and Gustafson was honorable mention last year as a freshman.
  

Regional B

• Birchwood The Bobcats graduated their sole Lakeland East all-conference performer from last season and we don't have any additional information beyond that.
• Bruce The Red Raiders also graduated their sole Lakeland East all-conference performer from last season.
  
• Butternut Senior Chelsea Aicher was an honorable mention Indianhead all-conference star last season.
  
• Mellen Senior Brittany Sarow was an honorable mention Indianhead all-conference star last season.
• Mercer Senior Alicia Reichard was an honorable mention Indianhead all-conference star last season.
• Prentice Senior Abbie Anderson was first-team Marawood North all-conference last season and seniors Hailey Niemi, Lauren Arndt and Courtney Carlson were honorable mention.
• Rib Lake Senior Vanessa Loertscher was second-team Marawood North all-conference in 2009. Seniors Courtney Geisler and Hilary Thums were honorable mention.
• Winter Junior Callie Sajdera was first-team Lakeland East all-conference last season and senior Kyli Starcz was honorable mention.
  

Regional C

• Clayton Senior Lindsay LaBlanc was first-team Lakeland West all-conference last season and senior Krystal Kohnen was honorable mention.
  
• Cornell Junior Molly Brion was first-team Lakeland East all-conference last season.
• Frederic Senior Jade Johnson will likely be one of the impact players for the Vikings.
• Lake Holcombe The Chieftains graduated their sole Lakeland East all-conference performer from last season and we don't have any additional information beyond that.
• Luck Senior Morgan Denny was first-team Lakeland West all-conference last season.
• New Auburn The Trojans graduated their sole Lakeland East all-conference performer from last season and we don't have any additional information beyond that.
• Prairie Farm We don't have any information on the Panthers.
  
• Turtle Lake Junior Ashley Lahti was first-team Lakeland West all-conference last season, while seniors Alex Tschida and Tricia Hanson were honorable mention.
  

Regional D

• Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran There's a solid paragraph of useful information about this team at WisSports.Net and we encourage you to read what they have to say about senior setter Heidi Lau, a second-team 2009 Dairyland all-conference selection, and the rest of the Lancers.
  
• Gilman Not much information other than a brief mention in the WisSports.Net Cloverbelt East conference preview.
  
• Granton Same here.
• Greenwood Senior middle Taylan Johnson and senior setter Kati Smith were first-team Cloverbelt East all-conference last season. Junior outside Kelsey Kern was second-team.
• Alma Center Lincoln Senior Jenny Sampson and Ali Richter were honorable mention Dairyland all-conference last season for the Hornets.
• Loyal No information other than a brief mention in the WisSports.Net Cloverbelt East preview.
• McDonell Central The 2009 Division 4 state champions graduated just three seniors and return first-team Cloverbelt West all-conference setter Karley Wiensch, who had 899 assists last season for the Macks. Other key returnees are junior middle Sarah Schoch (177 kills), junior middle Jenn See (151 kills) and senior outside Hannah Krejci, who, in addition to being honorable mention Cloverbelt West all-conference, had 11 kills, 0 errors for a .440 percentage in the state finals. Senior libero Ari Gardow was also honorable mention all-conference, tallying 300 digs in 2009. You can find more on McDonell Central in onpackerland's D4 preview on WisSports.net.

PREDICTION

McDonell Central over Prentice in three.

2010 Dairyland Girls Volleyball Conference Preview

The following post was on the WSN site today:
Dairyland Girls Volleyball Conference Preview

Dairyland Girls Volleyball Conference Preview

posted by Jay Messar at 8/11/2010

2009 Recap

The Dairyland Conference put on quite a performance in last year's post-season after not getting much respect for the majority of the regular season. In all, four teams played for Regional titles, two teams earned Sectional berths and two lost to eventual State champions. Cochrane-Fountain City and Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran split the conference crown last season with matching 8-1 records. The Pirates knocked out third-place Independence in a Division 4 Regional final, while the Lancers were nipped in their own Regional final against McDonell Central, 3-2. Melrose-Mindoro, which tied Independence at 7-2 in the conference, had the deepest playoff run in making it to a Division 3 Sectional final, where it lost to eventual State champion Grantsburg in straight sets.

2009 Final Standings
2009 All-Conference Teams

2010 Preview

Predicted Order of Finish:
1) Melrose-Mindoro
2) Cochrane-Fountain City
3) Independence
4) Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran
5) Alma
6) Gilmanton
7) Whitehall
8) Eleva-Strum
9) Alma Center Lincoln
10) Blair-Taylor

Players to Watch:
Ali Richter, Alma
Jenny Sampson, Alma
Kelly McCamley, Cochrane-Fountain City
Heidi Lau, Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran
Aly McLean, Eleva-Strum
Erin Davis, Gilmanton
Bri Halama, Independence
Lynsi Knudtson, Melrose-Mindoro
Alexis Plachecki, Melrose-Mindoro

2010 Season Outlook:
Melrose-Mindoro has qualified for three straight Regional finals since 2006 and is riding high from its deepest run to the Division 3 Sectional final last season. The Mustangs should be ready to stampede once again this year with a pair of All-Conference nominees returning for the 2010 season. Alexis Plachecki, a First Team honoree last season, and Lynsi Knudtson, a Second Team nominee, should lead Melrose-Mindoro back to the top spot in the Dairyland.

Cochrane-Fountain City split league laurels last season and is also coming off a strong playoff run that took them to the Sectional semifinals in Division 4. This season, the Pirates will have some new faces in the starting rotation as they will need to make do without First Team All-Dairyland nominees Erica Willadsen and Katie Baures. Incoming Second Team All-Conference senior Kelly McCamley should provide some leadership this season for a strong Pirates program that should once again vie for the Dairyland crown.

Independence had an All-Conference hitter in Bri Halama last season, who earned First Team honors. The Indees will look for her for leadership this year as they will be without First Team-mate Steph Walek and Second Team All-Dairylander Brittany Dascher. Add in that the girls athletic programs at Independence know what it takes to win, with success in both basketball and softball. And with multiple-sport athletes, as many of the Indees are, that killer instinct is often an X-factor in clutch situations.

Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran tied C-FC for not only the longest school name in the conference, but also the league championship in 2009. Lancers head coach Joe Lau has five positions from last year's starting lineup to replace, including key hitters in First Team outside Kat Kazemba and a pair of Second Team middle hitters, but do get back a Second Team setter in Heidi Lau. Yet Coach Lau has full confidence in his team. "Our kids know what needs to happen for success to occur," Lau said. "They have a good attitude, work well together and have no egos."

Alma finished 4-5 in league play and made an early exit from the Regional rounds last season despite a pair of Honorable Mention juniors. Now seniors, Ali Richter and Jenny Sampson should have the much improved Rivermen primed for a run at the top of the conference and potentially, its best regional seed since 2006.

Gilmanton may be without the services of First Team A-C nominee Cheyenne Gray this season, but the Panthers welcome back a Second Team member in Erin Davis. Gilmanton might have the most difficult stretch of Dairyland play this year, facing Melrose-Mindoro, ECIL and Independence in a seven-day span to close out September.

Whitehall had some struggles last season notching wins, but gets back all but one starter from last season. Incoming sophomore outside hitter Kayley Blaha could be a player to keep an eye on, if not this season then down the road.

Eleva-Strum senior Aly McLean will need to carry her Cardinal squad this season in order to improve upon its seventh-place finish last season. That could be tough without the support from HM Ronnie Moltzau.

Alma Center Lincoln and Blair-Taylor hovered in the basement of the Dairyland last year and have no All-Conference nominations returning-- in fact neither squad had one make either team. Yet the Hornets and Wildcats will get a chance to get off on the right foot, opening the season against one another on August 24th.