Laconia volleyball gets over regional hurdle

The Spartans are regional champs.

And as unbelievable at is might sound, it is the first volleyball regional title for any Spartans player on the current team.

"[Friday] night, closing out our practice, I said, 'Now you guys have to get the job done, you guys have not done this yet, you have not won a regional championship yet in volleyball,'" coach Kaitlyn Wiese said. "Their faces were kind of like, oh my gosh, we really haven't. I think that really put a fire under them that we have to make this happen, we have to focus and we've got to be disciplined."

Laconia was all of those things on Saturday night, leaving no doubt in a 25-15, 25-17, 25-14 win against St. Mary Catholic at home.

Two years ago, Laconia lost to Randolph in the regional final and last year the Spartans were upset by Flyway rival St. Mary's Springs in the same round.

Senior Eva Engel said the seniors came together to lead the team to make sure that didn't happen this time.

"I think we all went out there to prove a point that we're not ending our season," Engel said. "We've got so many seniors and there's so much focus on the court that none of us want to be done. We all want to keep practicing; we all want to keep playing."

The Spartans (26-2) showed enhanced intensity during the match, perhaps none more so than opposite side hitter Payton Morgan, who finished with seven kills. Morgan pumped her fist and fired her team up after every kill.

"I love watching Payton play," Wiese said. "She reminds me of myself as a player. She plays with such intensity, and she's so determined, she never wants to give up.

"I was shouting the whole night to give her the ball, she was on fire. You could tell that she's not ready to pick up the basketball yet, she wants to stay with me for a couple more weeks. I'm just glad she's playing at the level she's at."

Setter Mariska Kees was excellent spreading the ball around again, for Laconia had five players to record at least four kills. Kees finished with 33 assists.

Engel led Laconia offensively, picking up 11 kills. She said that the ability for the Spartans to have a different player lead the attack on a nightly basis is what makes them so dangerous.

"A lot of teams we play it's like, 'Focus on this player, it's going to go to this player multiple times,'" Engel said. "I think it's so unpredictable with our team, we have so many weapons across the board.

"Yeah, you want to get set a lot, but if one of your teammates gets a great kill, you get excited for them."

Laconia was its usual dominant self at the net once again. The Spartans finished with 14 blocks. Engel led the team with five and sophomore Finley Morgan added four.

The Spartans move on to play against Nekoosa at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Portage high school. Both teams were the No. 1 seed in their respective regional.

PHOTO GALLERY: St. Mary Catholic at Laconia volleyball - WIAA Regional Final - 10/26/2024