This story is sponsored by Dental Clinic of Marshfield
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
State tournament photo gallery
GREEN BAY – The Division 3 championship match between Spencer and Oostburg couldn’t have been much closer.
The Rockets stood one point away from their first state title before Oostburg stormed back, scoring the final three points of the fifth set and stole the championship away, finishing off a 21-25, 25-16, 26-24, 22-25, 17-15 win Saturday at the WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament at the Resch Center.
The fifth set went back and forth, with Spencer taking a 9-5 lead after an ace by Dani Johnson, only to see Oostburg rip off seven of the next eight points to take a 12-10 advantage.
Kills by Tara Matter and Courtney Schulz pushed Spencer back ahead, but the Dutchmen respond and grab a 14-13 lead.
Schulz had back-to-back kills to give the Rockets a 15-14 lead and put them at championship point with Matter serving.
However, Jo-Leigh VerVelde had a kill and an ace and Oostburg won the final point, although with a little controversy, to grab the gold trophy.
Spencer contested that early in the final point the side judge was signaling the end of the play after a near kill by the Rockets. Video replay shows the ball did not hit the ground, but the side judge did move his arm before pulling it back and not ending the play, and it sounded like a whistle was blown. Click this link to view the final play, courtesy of FoxSportsWisconsin.com.
“Everybody on our bench thought the down ref pointed down and blew the whistle and we kind of stopped and the play kept going and never gathered ourselves again,” Spencer coach Buff Heller said. “One point doesn’t make the match, but it’s tough to lose that way.”
Schulz, who had a team-high 24 kills, wasn’t about to let the way things ended damper her experience at the state tournament.
“It’s unbelievable,” Schulz said. “Definitely the regional and sectional that we came through prepared us for state because we had to play so many tough matches and games of five. It is an incredible ride and I couldn’t have asked for a better senior year.”
The loss ended an incredible run by the Rockets that saw they get farther than any volleyball team in school history. Spencer’s only other state tournament appearance, in 1974, ended with a first-round loss.
Spencer won thrilling five-game matches against Kewaunee in the sectional final last Saturday and No. 1-ranked Grantsburg in the state semifinal Friday to reach the championship match.
“These girls have been the underdog since our regional final and they rode with it and they didn’t leave anything back,” Heller said. “We were counted out by lots of people in the state and to get that silver ball to Spencer is fantastic.”
Matter added 19 kills, Kyleigh Herbert had 50 assists and nine kills, and Dani Johnson had 32 digs to lead Spencer.
VerVelde had 18 kills, 23 assists and 14 digs for the Dutchmen.
Spencer took control early, jumping out a 14-5 lead in the first set. After Oostburg closed the gap to 17-14, Spencer was able to pull away and finish off a 25-21 win on a kill by Matter.
The Dutchmen led all of Game 2 and evened the match with a 25-16 win behind three kills and two aces by VerVelde.
Game 3 was tight throughout and the Rockets surged to a 24-22 lead after a block kill by Schulz. However, Oostburg held off match point twice and won it 26-24 on a kill by VerVelde that rolled off the net and onto the ground on Spencer’s side.
Despite the close loss, the Rockets were determined to save their season and get back in the match.
“This team has had no quit all year,” Heller said. “Whether it’s a tournament on the weekend or a conference match, they never quit once. They’ve been great playing under pressure and having fun the past two weeks.”
It didn’t start well as the Dutchmen plowed out to a 12-4 lead, but Spencer finally got things rolling and closed to within 17-15 after a tip kill by Hebert.
After a net violation gave Spencer a side out, Marisa Johnson served six straight points to give the Rockets a 22-18 lead and Schulz had a block kill and a tip kill to end it and force a fifth game.
“We just had to keep fighting,” Matter said. “We knew that we could do it. Our fans were amazing, helping us out and stuff. We just had to stay positive.”
Even after the loss in the fifth game, Matter said she was satisfied with the way the Rockets battled.
“I’m pretty proud of our team actually,” Matter said. “We made it this far and we should be happy with what we accomplished. This hasn’t happened for a long time, so I’m proud of our team.”