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MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARATHON – The Auburndale girls volleyball team is going back to state.
The Apaches defeated Oconto 3-1 Saturday in a WIAA Division 3 sectional semfinal at Marathon High School.
Auburndale won by scores of 25-13, 25-13, 21-25, 26-24 to advance to the WIAA State Volleyball Tournament at the Resch Center in Green Bay. The Apaches will play Racine St. Catherine’s in a Division 3 semifinal Friday at 1 p.m. the winner will play for the state championship Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Auburndale had never made it to the WIAA state tournament before last year – now the program has two appearances in a row.
Five seniors – Liz Breu, Kayla Nikolay, Kimbelry Masephol, Kayleigh Kundinger and Emily Karl – return from the team that was swept in the state semifinals by Cuba City last year. Senior Lindsay Gotz also played last year but missed this season with an injury.
“This group of girls have some intangibles. They play with heart and refuse to give up,” Auburndale coach Peggy Empey said. “They help pick each other up when things are going wrong. They believe in themselves and believe in each other.”
Breu led the way against Oconto with 14 kills. Juniors Haley Harman and Kari Willfahrt added 11 each. Harman also had seven service aces.
Kundinger, the Apaches’ setter, had 39 assists and Masephol led the defense with 22 digs.
Auburndale ripped through the first two games, then seemed to be bit by the nervousness of standing only one win away for the state tournament.
“We were playing very strongly the first two games, and in Game 3 the intensity dropped. Oconto took advantage of that. In Game 4, we were still working on getting intensity back and were able to finish it off. We finished very strong the last few points.”
Check out MarshfieldAreaSports.com throughout the week for coverage of Auburndale’s trip to the state volleyball tournament, and for updates Friday from Green Bay.