This story is sponsored by Forward Financial Bank
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
Marshfield junior setter Anna Ripp and junior outside hitter Stephanie Rhodes were both named to the first team of the 2015 All-Wisconsin Valley Conference Volleyball Team, as voted on by the conference coaches.
Ripp, a setter, was second in the conference in assists per set (8.82), while Rhodes was third in the conference with 125 kills and tied for sixth in attack percentage (28.4) for the Tigers, who finished 10-2 and in second place in the Valley this fall.
“There isn’t another setter in the conference that I would want more on my team than Anna,” Marshfield coach Dawn Sadowska said. “She is a leader in practice and in matches as well as in the weight room. Her ability to speed up our offense made us much more competitive and was crucial for us to make the 19-2 run we made the last two-thirds of the season.
“Stephanie is one of the few top offensive players in the conference who plays all six rotations,” Sadowska added. “We asked Stephanie to switch to outside hitter after playing middle for us the last two seasons. With this switch, she became a six-rotation player who was an important part of our defense and a primary passer in our serve-receive.”
Senior libero Sara Dasler, a first-team pick last season, was named to the second team, along with junior hitter Ema Fehrenbach for the Tigers. Junior middle hitter Alexa Aumann and sophomore middle hitter Hannah Meverden were honorable mention choices for Marshfield.
“This is a team that worked really hard to put themselves into the position they were in at the end of the season,” Sadowska said. “Despite not qualifying for the state tournament, they did make a tremendous run going 19-2 since early September beating some very competitive teams (the two teams they lost to, Oshkosh Lourdes and D.C. Everest, are in the state tournament). I am extremely proud of the team’s improvement which was created by each individual’s improvement. I think how the season ended has only made them more determined to get themselves back to the sectional final. What they do between now and then will determine if we have a different outcome.”
2015 All-Wisconsin Valley Conference Volleyball Team
*unanimous selection
First team: *Regan Stefan, jr., outside hitter, D.C. Everest; Natalie Mohring, so., hitter/setter, D.C. Everest; Anna Ripp, jr., setter, Marshfield; Stephanie Rhodes, jr., outside hitter, Marshfield; *Ali Zamzow, sr., libero, Merrill; *Anna Finnell, sr., outside hitter, Merrill; *Emily Page, sr., setter, Merrill.
Second team: Caroline Hehir, jr., setter, D.C. Everest; Allyssa Frahm, sr., libero, D.C. Everest; Jenna Romblaski, so., outside hitter, D.C. Everest; Sara Dasler, sr., libero, Marshfield; Ema Fehrenbach, jr., outside hitter, Marshfield; Rylee Folz, sr., middle hitter, Merrill; Ally Miklesh, so., setter, Stevens Point; Jordan Murphy, so., setter, Wausau East; Lauren Conley, jr., outside hitter, Wausau West; Kristina Geiger, sr., outside hitter, Wausau West.
Honorable mention: Alexa Aumann, jr., middle hitter; Hannah Meverden, so., middle hitter, Marshfield; Morgan Wardall, so., middle hitter, Merrill; Katie Zelinski, jr., right-side hitter, Merrill; Morgan Rechner, sr., libero, Stevens Point; Lauren Luoma, jr., libero, Wausau East; Ieden Sheehan, so., setter, Wausau West; Hannah Graczkowski, sr., setter, Wisconsin Rapids.