Repeat complete: Xavier pounds McFarland to capture second-straight WIAA Division 2 state girls volleyball championship

Xavier’s Madison Daley (left) had a team-high nine kills and five blocks to lead the Hawks’ offense in a 3-0 sweep of McFarland in the Division 2 championship match on Saturday at the WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament at the Resch Center in Green Bay. At right, Xavier senior Mariah Potter dives for a ball. (Photos by Paul Lecker/AppletonSportsPage.com)

By Paul Lecker
AppletonSportsPage.com

GREEN BAY – The Xavier girls volleyball team wasn’t about to let last year’s state championship be a fluke.

The Hawks played a tough schedule all season long, taking on all comers in tournaments across the state, to prepare for the moment they had again Saturday – playing for another state title.

The dream became reality as Xavier pounced on McFarland early and cruised to a 3-0 sweep in the Division 2 championship match at the 2023 WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament at the Resch Center, taking its second-straight state crown.

The Hawks trailed only once – 1-0 to start the second set – and went on to a 25-17, 25-13, 25-10 win to finish the season at 45-3.

Two of the team’s three losses came to the two teams playing later Saturday for the Division 1 state title – Milwaukee Divine Savior Holy Angels and Oconomowoc – as the Hawks were willing to play anyone and everyone to get ready for another state tournament run.

Xavier finished the season on a 12-match winning streak without dropping a single set.

“One of the challenges was we needed the competition each week,” Xavier coach Luke Herriges said. “We went out and put that really tough schedule together playing the best teams in the state, no matter the division. Our girls always rose to the occasion, win or lose, we competed hard and it helps translate to these moments.”

After a back-and-forth to open the match, Xavier pulled ahead for good with a 4-0 run that included an ace by Mariah Potter and two perfect Potter sets for kills by Olivia Neumann and Madison Daley to take a 12-8 lead.

Xavier finished the set on a 5-1 run as Daley had one of her five blocks and Annika Kowalski drilled home a kill for the 25-17 win.

“We focus a lot on our mental strength and we know we play our best when we play free,” senior Halle Vande Hey said. “We really focus on being in the moment, looking to the next play, responding when there is an error or when the other team makes a good play.”

After McFarland (36-11) took a 1-0 lead on a service ace from Ava Dean, Xavier scored six of the next eight points and never trailed again. Back-to-back aces from Kowalski helped the Hawks build a 7-3 lead and they led by at least three the rest of the way.

A Kowalski kill, a tip kill by Potter and a kill from Daley finished off the 25-13 win.

The third set was never in doubt. The Hawks started out on a 4-0 run that included an ace by Potter, and after taking a 14-9 lead, Xavier scored 11 of the final 12 points to end it. Three-straight block kills, two by Mattea Kiepert and the last by Daley, provided the final three points and started the Hawks’ celebration.

“A big thing for us is that we play in the moment and left it all out on the court, and left it all out there in our last game,” said Kiepert, who finished with five kills.

Xavier hit at a crisp .341 hitting percentage, with six players netting at least five kills. Daley led the way with nine, Kowalski had eight and Vande Hey added seven. Potter finished with 29 assists and eight digs, and libero Belle Shea had a match-high 16 digs for the Hawks.

“You couldn’t ask for a better match to end our season for our seniors. I’m so proud of this group,” Herriges said. “It makes us so dynamic that we can go one direction, completely reverse the flow and go somewhere else. We have five great hitters on the court and there’s so many more on the bench too. It’s so fun to be with this group and the level we can play at.”

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 Wonweoc-Center (29-2) 3, No. 4 Fall River (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 (30-4) 3, No. 4 Neenah St. Mary Catholic (30-5) 0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-19)
No. 2 St. Croix Falls (35-2) 3, No. 3 Cuba City (30-4) 1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-16, 25-10)
Division 2 Semifinals
No. 1 Appleton Xavier (44-3) 3, No. 4 Rice Lake (28-9) 0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-19)
No. 3 McFarland (36-10) 3, No. 2 Pewaukee (37-13) 2 (18-25, 25-23, 25-23, 16-25, 18-16)
Division 1 Semifinals
No. 2 Oconomowoc (41-3) 3,  No. 3 Appleton North (33-8) 1 (27-29, 25-16, 25-10, 25-21)
No. 1 Milwaukee Divine Savior Holy Angels (46-1) 3, No. 4 Sussex Hamilton (38-10) 0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-7)
Saturday, Nov. 4
Championship Matches
Division 4: No. 1 Wonewoc-Center (30-2) 3, No. 2 Wausau Newman Catholic (31-13) 2 (21-25, 18-25, 25-20, 25-17, 15-8)
Division 3: No. 2 St. Croix Falls (36-2) 3, No. 1 Howards Grove (30-5) 2 (17-25, 25-23, 25-18, 24-26, 15-13)
Division 2: No. 1 Appleton Xavier (445-3) 3, No. 3 McFarland (36-11) 0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-10)
Division 1: No. 1 Milwaukee Divine Savior Holy Angels (47-1) 3, No. 2 Oconomowoc (41-4) 2 (25-14, 20-25, 25-27, 25-22, 15-8)