This story is sponsored by Forward Bank
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
Marshfield had three first-team selections and two more named to the second team of the 2023 All-Wisconsin Valley Conference Volleyball Team, as voted on by the seven conference coaches following the season.
Senior outside hitter Abby Ongna was a unanimous first-team pick, and junior hitter Lauren Homolka and junior setter Kailyn Kurth were also named to the seven-player first team for Marshfield, which tied D.C. Everest for the Wisconsin Valley Conference title with an 11-1 record.
Ongna had a conference-high 159 kills and finished third in attack percentage at .343, while Homolka had 98 kills, and led the WVC with a .416 attack percentage and in total blocks with 37. Kurth was the conference’s top setter, finished with 345 assists and a whopping 9.32 assists per set, which was nearly double the second-place finisher.
D.C. Everest’s Ryden Lehrke, Sidney Geiss and Lyndsie Truitt, and Wausau West’s Alli Schauls rounded out the first-team selections.
Senior right side hitter Grace Taylor and senior libero Ashlyn Barwick were second-team picks, and Casey Dasler, a senior defensive specialist, was an honorable mention choice for Marshfield.
Taylor was fifth in the conference in attack percentage at .270, and Barwick led Marshfield in digs per set at 3.0. Dasler was the Tigers’ leader in serving, finishing with a .935 serve percentage and a conference-high 35 service aces.
2023 All-Wisconsin Valley Conference Volleyball Team
(*denotes unanimous selection)
First team: *Abby Ongna, sr., outside hitter, Marshfield; Ryden Lehrke, jr., outside hitter, D.C. Everest; Lyndsie Truitt, sr., middle hitter, D.C. Everest; Kailyn Kurth, jr., setter, Marshfield; Sidney Geiss, jr., setter, D.C. Everest; Lauren Homolka, jr., middle hitter, Marshfield; Alli Schauls, sr., outside hitter, Wausau West.
Second team: Ali Torhorst, sr., middle blocker, Stevens Point; Chloe McRae, sr., middle hitter, Merrill; Graysen Burger, sr., libero, Wausau East; Grace Taylor, sr., right side hitter, Marshfield; Kirsten Hall, jr., right side hitter, D.C. Everest; Avery Hoff, sr., outside hitter/setter, Merrill; Ashlyn Barwick, sr., libero, Marshfield.
Honorable mention: Elexa Emmer, sr., middle hitter, Merrill; Grace Huggenvik, jr., middle blocker/setter, Wausau West; Ava Detert, jr., defensive specialist, Merrill; Lenna Mayer, fr., libero, Stevens Point; Kelly Kray, sr., middle blocker, Wausau West; Sammy Johnson, sr., setter, D.C. Everest; Ella Harmon, sr., defensive specialist/libero, D.C. Everest; Claire Coushman, sr., setter, Wausau East; Danica Rosenthal, so., middle hitter, Wisconsin Rapids; Casey Dasler, sr., defensive specialist, Marshfield; Maddy Ott, sr., defensive specialist/libero, Merrill; Hadyn Ligman, sr., right side hitter, Stevens Point.