L-C shifts into high gear to reach state title match

An extra section of seating needed to be opened up at the Resch Center to accommodate all the fans in Luxemburg-Casco’s section Friday for its WIAA state tournament debut.

It took a little while for the Spartans to get going, but once they opened up the throttle, they showed why they’ve been so tough to defend all season.

L-C shifted into high gear to the tone of a 17-25, 25-10, 25-23, 25-20 victory over Merrill in a Division 2 state semifinal match.

The win served as a microcosm of the Spartans’ season, which saw them start out 8-7 before going 33-1 down the stretch to advance to the D2 state championship against Lake Mills Lakeside Lutheran at 2 p.m. today.

“I don’t know why, but our team likes to come out a little slow at the beginning there,” L-C coach Jeff Frey said. “They did the same thing last Saturday. But once we get going, I just thought we played really well tonight and we took advantage of some of the things we knew we could take advantage of against Merrill. We tried to spread the ball out and run pin to pin, and I really think took advantage of the things that we wanted to do. I’m just proud of the way the girls fought back.”

After dropping the first set, the Spartans controlled the pace of play behind the performance of senior setter Megan Cannon, who made a boom at the Resch Center by dishing out 44 assists to fuel L-C’s versatile attack.

UW-Green Bay recruit Alexis Dorner recorded 21 kills with an impressive .472 hitting percentage. Junior Petyon VandenBush (11), senior Megan Thayse (9) and junior Cassie Schiltz (7) combined for 27 kills.

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“I love how fast our offense is,” Cannon said. “It definitely throws teams off guard all the time. I can throw it anywhere, and I know they’re going to hit it.

“They were shading right to both of our outsides, so I knew my right side would be open, and that Al would be open. She was doing absolutely everything with the ball. She was tipping and hitting. They couldn’t stop her, so I knew that going to her anywhere would work.”

Senior libero Molly Wotruba led the way for the L-C defense by compiling 16 digs. Schiltz added eight digs, while senior Annie Kinnard made eight digs.

Senior Brianna Prevost posted four of the Spartans’ nine service aces to extend their winning streak to 25 straight matches.

“I feel like we were nervous in the first one,” Dorner said. “As it kept going, our nerves kept leaving. By that second match we were just ready to play.”

The Spartans’ have a golden opportunity to add the school’s 11th WIAA state championship for a girls sport on Saturday.

To do so, they’ll have to find a way to slow down the fast play of Lake Mills Lakeside Lutheran, which made quick work Friday of last year’s champion Waukesha Catholic Memorial by sweeping the Crusaders.

“We definitely have way more to show (Saturday) against them,” Dorner said. “I don’t feel intimidated whatsoever. I’m ready to go play a faster-pace team and to really show what we’re made of.”