Chargers rally, finish dream season
WISCONSIN RAPIDS - Sussex Hamilton was scrappy and hungry, but it wasn’t young. The Chargers were experienced and unflappable. And, Saturday night, it won them a state championship.
The Chargers, the top seed in Division 1 state girls volleyball tournament, were pushed into a corner during the middle stretch of the championship match with Burlington. After taking the first set, the Chargers were on the receiving end of steady blows from the Demons’ hitters while seemingly unable to get anything from their own offense to fall.
The second set went handily to Burlington and, trailing, 18-10 in the third, it looked like the team’s first state championship was slipping away.
“We needed to just take a deep breath and play our game, which is cool, calm and collected,” Chargers senior setter Katelyn Lefler said.
From that point on, the Chargers righted the ship and, suddenly, were an unshakable avalanche of red and white. They rattled off a 9-1 run to win the set and closed the fourth set on another big run to earn not only the school’s first title in 39 years with a 25-18, 17-25, 25-23, 25-20 victory, but also the first ever state championship by a Hamilton girls team.
“We’ve been dreaming about it since we started playing together in seventh grade,” middle blocker Lakyn Graves said. “This is the best-case scenario. This is your dream and it’s surreal that we’re here now.”
This Chargers team was not only a dominant force on both offense and defense, finishing 18-1 while playing in the toughest conference in the state, but it was also proof that, despite what history would say, a Hamilton-Buhr pairing can work.
The Chargers throughout the year took on the demeanor of their head coach, Traci Buhr, and remained steady and resilient no matter the circumstances. And, in return, the competitiveness that Hamilton played with on the floor clearly carried over to the sideline. “I think my team would think it’s funny that I would say I’m speechless because I pretty much always have something to say, but I’m speechless right now,” Buhr said. “This group has been unbelievable and they’ve had one goal in mind.”
The title was particularly sweet for the Chargers’ core group of seniors that made up the majority of their rotation at state. Graves, a senior, was unstoppable, burying 16 kills while hitting .500. “I knew to feed her,” Lefler said. Graves’ fellow classmates Lefler (10 kills, 23 assists, 12 digs), Janelle Stuempfig (24 assists, 14 digs), Megan Hawthorne (seven kills, three aces), Clara Hoeksema (10 digs), Trisha Shankar (five digs) and Ella Chevalier (five kills) also stepped up critically.
“The most amazing thing about this senior class is they are best friends,” Buhr said. “They’re inseparable. I was a little nervous that if one girl got COVID, then they all would because they are completely inseparable. I think that really showed on the court tonight.”
The Demons, who have won four state titles, all since 2011, had their foot on the gas behind the swings of Lydia Biggin (17 kills) and Camryn Lukenbill (16 kills) and a defense led by libero Samantha Naber that was at times utterly impenetrable. They tied the match at one set apiece thanks to a 12-5 run to close out the second and opened up leads of 12-6, 18-10 and 21-16 in the third.
“They’re probably the top serving and defensive team in the state,” Buhr said. “Their defense is second to none. We knew we were just going to have to keep going, keep the wheel moving and keep putting pressure on them.”
Burlington committed three straight errors to give Hamilton life again at 2219. The Chargers followed with a kill by Graves, then Lefler, then a Stuempfig ace and a Hawthorne kill to take the lead. A Burlington service error gave the Chargers set point, which they won thanks to an attack error.
“I feel like we just knew at that point we would win,” Graves said.
With newfound confidence, the Chargers closed it out, but not without a fight from Burlington. The Demons led, 16-15, in the fourth, but kills by Lefler and sophomore Sylvie Zgonc preceded two Hawthorne aces for a 4-0 Hamilton run.
The Chargers never looked back from there. They weren’t throwing away their shot.
Division 4
Burlington Catholic Central won its sixth WIAA state title, all of which have come since 2006, as it defeated McDonell Catholic in three sets in Little Chute.
The Hilltoppers capped off an undefeated season by winning three tightly-contested sets, 25-21, 25-23, 25-22, Saturday night.
Sammie Seib had a team-high 17 kills, Laine Dirksmeyer added 10 kills and Ella Shaw had 27 assists to lead Catholic Central.
The Hilltoppers were playing in their third straight state final, having won in 2018 and falling to Clear Lake a year ago.