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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
View a photo gallery of Spencer’s playoff run
WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament schedule
SPENCER – The group of talent collected on the Spencer volleyball team’s roster this season doesn’t come along all that often.
In fact, it’s been 37 years since the last – and only – Spencer volleyball team made it to the state tournament, so the girls are relishing this unique opportunity.
Spencer (33-7) will take on last year’s state runner-up, Grantsburg (32-1), in a Division 3 semifinal at 1 p.m. Friday at the WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament at the Resch Center in Green Bay.
The Rockets have three seniors – hitter Courtney Schulz, libero Dani Johnson and setter Kyleigh Hebert – who have played together on the varsity for four years. Another senior, hitter Aubrie Bissonette, is in her third year on the varsity.
Throw in a mixture of other talent, from freshman Marisa Johnson to sophomore Tynae Phillips to juniors Paige Johnson, Tara Matter and Alicia Endreas, to senior Krystal Weier, and the Rockets are set on making this season the best ever in school history.
“Every year you start the season going, ‘Can we do it?’” Spencer coach Buff Heller said. “This year, August 16 we started, and watching our first two days of tryouts I was thinking, ‘Boy, we have the girls that can do some damage.’
“Once we brought in Whitley Phillips to help, an ex-player, the girls respect her a ton, and we’ve taught them a lot this year and it’s been fantastic.”
Only Granstburg has any state experience among the four teams in the Division 3 field having made it the past four seasons. The Pirates were runner-ups in 2008 and last year, and won the title in 2009.
Southwestern (30-2) is playing in its first state volleyball tournament, while its opponent, Oostburg (44-3) hasn’t been there since back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2006 and 2007.
Experience can be a big plus on the big stage of the state tournament, but it shouldn’t phase the Rockets, who have collectively been building to this moment for years.
“Early on (in the season) our coach kept telling us that ‘You guys are a state team,’” Schulz said after the sectional final win over Kewaunee. “It didn’t start sinking in until she started bringing us stats on how our kills were so much higher and our digs were so much higher than everyone else. As we progressed through the season, it became more and more real.”