Originally Posted by The Waukesha Freeman….
ASHWAUBENON — Even Sam Derynda couldn’t quite believe how it transpired.
Not that she’s complaining. In her third year leading Catholic Memorial, Derynda can now say she’s a state-champion player — and coach.
It was a relatively stress-free journey to the gold ball, at that, for the top-seeded Crusaders, who pummeled No. 2 Luxemburg- Casco in the second set, then fended off its desperation haymakers in the third. The result was a 25-18, 25-10, 25-22 sweep and the eighth WIAA state title for CMH during the WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament on Saturday at the Resch Center.
“I didn’t think it was going to be that quick, if I’m being honest,” Derynda said. “I knew we could, but it just depended on how we showed up. And we showed up firing right away.”
Most notably, the right arm of Jenna Welsch came out firing. The senior outside had a match-high 11 kills.
“(Senior setter Lucia Brown) was like, ‘Oh, you’re just slamming it through the block every single time,” Welsch said. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ll just power through it.’” She did just that to the tune of a .310 hitting percentage, while CMH’s two middles, senior Adeline Goedheer and sophomore Addison Kelenic, combined for 13 kills and 4 1/2 blocks while committing just two errors on 22 attempts.
“We knew they were a good team, but they were amazing tonight,” Luxemburg-Casco coach Jeff Frey said. “It felt like whatever we did, they matched. I feel like we played really well. Hats off to them.
“It had more to do with how they played than the way we played tonight.”
Catholic Memorial players celebrate after the final point of the Division 2 final during the WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament on Saturday at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon.
Not only were Brown and junior setter Ellen Mowbray able to spread out their 31 assists to several different options, but the CMH defense was nearly impenetrable. For much of the match, the Spartans (30-13) were in the red and ultimately ended up hitting just .036.
“We played unbelievably,” Derynda said. “We came out firing. We came out wanting to compete, make it challenging for them, take away their best options and play our game.
“We played unbelievable defense. There was no let up.”
The Crusaders (35-10) never trailed in the first set, beginning the match on a 10-3 run. Senior setter Lucia Brown was behind the service line during a 5-0 push as Welsch put away three early kills.
“Jenna looked at me after the match and said, ‘I saved all my power for this match,’” Derynda said.
The Spartans were able to close within three, but no closer than that as CMH cruised to a first-set win.
“Cruise” would be underselling what the Crusaders did in the second set.
Once again, CMH started on a 10-3 run, with Goedheer and Brown each with a pair of kills during that spurt. This time, the run didn’t let up.
The lead grew to 19-6, as the Crusaders reeled of six straight with junior defensive specialist Lucie Dvorak at serve. An attack error put CMH one set away from its first state title since 2016 and eighth since becoming a member of the WIAA.
“We just dominated, especially set two,” Derynda said. “There was no question at that point.”
It was no surprise that the Spartans, with their backs against the wall, came out with everything they had to begin the third. They forced a quick timeout with an opening 4-1 run and built that lead to 6-1 due to some shaky offense from CMH. But it would evaporate quickly.
The Crusaders chipped away and used a 5-0 run to take an 11-9 edge with Brown at serve. They never trailed again and fought off another mini-push from the Spartans late before an L-C serve sailed long to set off the celebration.
“We knew there was a chance (we could win state),” Derynda said. “It just depended on how we showed up. And for the past three weeks, practices have been so competitive. They’ve been working each other constantly. It’s great them seeing the reward from that.”
Derynda, Brown and Welsch stopped short of saying it was their best match of the season, a testament to their consistent, high level of play and the elite competition they faced throughout the season.
Brown, a standout soccer player who led CMH to a runner- up finish at state in the spring, and Welsch, an allstate basketball player that was part of a sectional-finalist squad last winter, both spoke to the importance of volleyball when it came to the mental side of sports.
Winning a state title certainly helped put Brown in a golden state of mind.
“I literally was telling all my teammates before this — I’m not getting another silver ball tonight. It’s my senior year. I really wanted it,” said Brown, who added eight kills and 11 digs.
Senior libero Addison Fura and junior outside Isabella Webber finished with 13 and 12 digs, respectively, for the Crusaders, who had eight total blocks and seven aces.
Derynda recalled winning CMH’s first WIAA state title in 2006 — back when she wasn’t old enough to drive — and the closeness of that team. Since taking over for the legendary Ted Schulte in 2022, Derynda wanted her players to feel that same kind of connection, knowing it would help lead them to greatness.
“Some of my best friends still come from Memorial volleyball,” Derynda said. “These two (Welsch and Brown), the other seniors, stuck with it. They believed it. Last year was a little tough at times, but we constantly forced the idea … we keep pushing this culture, and the culture is going to build the program.
“We were the team to beat, and we’ve never been that team, and it was really fun for them to embrace it.”