Four Xavier players named to first team of 2023 All-Bay Conference Girls Volleyball Team

By Paul Lecker
AppletonSportsPage.com

Xavier, winners of the Bay Conference and a second-straight WIAA Division 2 state title, had four first-team selections on the 2023 All-Bay Conference Girls Volleyball Team, as voted on by the conference coaches following the season.

Xavier senior setter Mariah Potter was a unanimous first-team selection and was named Bay Conference Player of the Year as she finished the season with 996 assists and ended a four-year career with an astonishing 2,874 assists. Potter also had 102 service aces, 197 digs and 60 kills this season.

Senior libero Belle Shea, and senior hitters Halle Vande Hey and Olivia Neumann were also among the first-team picks for Xavier, which went a perfect 7-0 in conference play.

Seymour senior Hazel Cook, Shawano senior Abigail Bystol and sophomore Leah Nordin, and West De Pere senior Ella Arendt round out the eight first-team selections.

Vande Hey led Xavier with 291 kills, while Neumann had 222, and Shea led the Hawks’ defense with 493 digs.

Xavier juniors Annika Kowalski and Madison Daley were named to the second team, while senior Mattea Kiepert was an honorable mention selection for the Hawks.

2023 All-Bay Conference Girls Volleyball Team
(*denotes unanimous selection)
First team: *Belle Shea, sr., libero, Xavier; *Mariah Potter, sr., setter, Xavier; *Hazel Cook, sr., outside hitter, Seymour; Abigail Bystol, sr., middle hitter, Shawano; Leah Nordin, so., middle hitter, Shawano; Halle Vande Hey, sr., outside hitter, Xavier; Olivia Neumann, sr., middle hitter, Xavier; Ella Arendt, sr., outside hitter, West De Pere.
Second team: Sydney Vannett, jr., libero, Seymour; Madisyn Berggren, jr., setter, West De Pere; Alyssa Rusch, jr., middle hitter, Menasha; Annika Kowalski, jr., outside hitter, Xavier; Madison Daley, jr., right side hitter, Xavier; Kenna Mix, sr., right side hitter, New London; Coral Cook, sr., outside hitter, Shawano; C.J. Ross, sr., setter, Green Bay East; Salem Boyd, jr., middle blocker, Seymour.
Honorable mention: Adrienne Schmidt, so., libero, West De Pere; Keira VanDeHei, jr., outside hitter, Seymour; Natalie Bystol, so., outside hitter; Mattea Kiepert, sr., middle hitter, Xavier; Isabele Dolezal, jr., middle blocker, West De Pere; Brianna Sackett, sr., hitter, Menasha; Addison Wery, sr., setter, Seymour; Samantha Richter, sr., defensive specialist, Shawano; Mallory Binsfeld, jr., middle blocker, West De Pere; Alisa Lee, sr., setter, Green Bay West.
Player of the Year: Mariah Potter, Xavier.