ONALASKA — Players for the Onalaska Luther High School volleyball team have valuable video of themselves to watch as they prepare for their biggest match of the season.
It comes from a Sept. 27 invitational hosted at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee. That’s when the Knights faced off with Watertown Luther Prep, which finished the season ranked first in Division 3 by the Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association.
The Phoenix won both sets that day, but the Luther players watching today barely recognize those lined up across the net from Luther Prep that day.
To say that the Knights have grown since that loss would be an understatement. The faces, of course, are the same, but everything else has changed. That’s what makes Friday morning’s WIAA state semifinal rematch at the Resch Center in Green Bay so exciting.
Fourth-seeded Luther (21-10) will face off with top-seeded Luther Prep (36-3) at 8 a.m. Second-seeded Barron (29-3) and third-seeded Manitowoc Lutheran (33-9) will play their semifinal right next to them, and the winners will play again Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
“We’ve gotten so much better at playing to win,” Luther senior Kayla Schiebel said. “When we watch that (first) match, we’re just kind of there. We didn’t play with urgency or hustle after plays like we do now.”
That change has come along with each new level of success for a young team that will gain a significant amount of experience at the Resch whether it plays in one match or two.
Luther won its first regional championship in 30 years and turned that into its first state appearance since private and public school merged in 2000. Some may have thought the Knights were a year away from such a thing being possible, but here they are with the confidence that they belong.
“It’s come along piece by piece,” said junior setter Addie Schaper, who keeps the offense flowing with her 845 assists (8.6 per set). “The first step was winning the regional, and winning the sectional was kind of icing on the cake.
“We’re really doing this. We’re getting what we worked so hard for now.”
Schiebel was candid about her surprise at the quick progress made by a team with so many juniors and sophomores in the rotation after a sectional semifinal win over Aquinas. She was clear that she saw a bright future, but Schiebel didn’t think this kind of success would materialize so soon.
Now she gets to be part of the state breakthrough and experience the tournament for the first time. Schaper said she was able to attend as a spectator last year, but Schiebel will be seeing the setup in person for the first time.
“It’s going to be crazy with all of the people and another match going on at the same time,” said Schiebel, who leads the team with 268 kills for an average of 2.9 per set. “It will be such an amazing experience. These are the top four teams in Division 3, and we’re one of them.”
The youth of the roster really shows when looking beyond Schiebel on the attack.
Sophomore Audrey Clark (234 total, 2.5 per set), sophomore Cara Unke (211, 2.2) and sophomore Tessa Gloede (173, 1.9) follow Schiebel in kills. Schiebel (55), Gloede (39) and junior Olivia Gregas (29) are the top three Knights in what has been a very effective block, too.
Senior Kamryn Anderson leads the team with 383 digs (4.1 per set). Schaper (261, 2.7) and sophomore Carsyn Krause (217, 2.3) follow in that category.
Coach Dan Larson has appreciated the depth he has in his lineup all season and looks forward to seeing how his team responds in its second match against Luther Prep, which has won 13 straight matches since pushing Division 1 top-seeded Milwaukee DSHA (42-3) in a three-set loss.
“We are not the team we were then,” Larson said. “I think we’re a lot more efficient. As the season progresses that tends to happen, and it has for us.”
That efficiency has the Knights one win away from playing for a state championship. Luther was last in a state volleyball final when it placed second as a WISAA school in 1989.
Sophomore Lorelei Candler tops the Phoenix in kills (296, 3.2), and she is followed by senior Emma Neyhart (184, 2.1) and sophomore Allison Schupmann (157, 1.8). Candler (458, 4.9) and senior Lydia Vasold (437, 4.7) lead the team in assists, and junior Elizabeth Kieselhorst (410, 4.8) tops Luther Prep in digs.
Schaper said the Phoenix did a good job of finding gaps on the attack the first time they played, but she expects to see a much different matchup unfold on Friday morning.
“They’ve grown to be a different team just like we have,” she said. “That’s exciting going into such a big matchup.
“We’re ready to have fun, make big points, celebrate those big points and work off of their big points.”
