School News

DSHA Varsity Volleyball Repeats as WIAA Division 1 State Champions

3/7/2024

FALL SEMESTER 2023 OF THE WORD MAGAZINE | by MOLLY SHEA

The DSHA Varsity Volleyball team began its season with three specific goals: to place in the top three in all tournaments played, win the GMC conference, and finish with a second consecutive WIAA Division 1 State Championship. They accomplished them all while going 47-1, undefeated in the state of Wisconsin, beating nationally ranked rival Oconomowoc four times, and finishing with a top 15 national ranking with USA TODAY Sports/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Additionally, the team averaged a 3.75 grade point average first semester.

Every role matters.

This season, the Dashers were led by outside hitters and full rotation players Creighton Volleyball commit, Sophia Wendlick, DSHA ’24, and University of Wisconsin Volleyball commit, Madison Quest, DSHA ’25. Both Wendlick and Quest earned All-American and first-team all-state honors this season. Wendlick was the GMC Volleyball Player of the Year, while Quest earned the prestigious Wisconsin Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year award. While both student-athletes are playing volleyball at an elite level, they are the first to credit their teammates for the overall success of the season.

“When our starting line-up would go up against our non-starters in practice, there were times it would be really close,” Quest shares. “We got to play with a team every single day that could replicate some of the best competition we would face.” Quest also emphasized that building a culture of support and respect was critical to the team’s consistency. “We wanted to be there for each other—no matter the roles. We were able to win because everyone wanted to come together as one group of girls who love and support each other.”

Wendlick echoes, “Everyone on the team played a role that mattered. Everyone had a voice. Our job was to hold each other accountable. I would ask for feedback from my setters and also ask them for what I needed. I really found my voice this year. We were able to build a culture where we could express what we needed, push each other, and encourage each other along the way.”

Four times a charm.

Last year, DSHA met rival Oconomowoc in the state title game that went to a thrilling five-set match. This season, the Dashers faced them four times on the road to a repeat title.

In the lexicon of American sports, regardless of the sport or level, it is often heard that to beat a team three times in a season is incredibly challenging. Arguably, this is especially true when the team is also a nationally-ranked cross-town rival and each match is a down-to-the-wire tournament final.

“Oconomowoc is one of the most fun games we play,” Wendlick says. “Win or lose, we compliment each other. As a team we seem to have the most energy when we play them.”

The Dashers first faced Oconomowoc on August 26 in the finals of the Joust Tournament, hosted at Homestead High School consisting of the top 24 teams in the state. DSHA won 2-1 (26-28, 25-22, 21-19). On September 16, they defeated Oconomowoc for a second time in a tournament final 2-1 (19-25, 26-24, 15-12) at the Sussex Hamilton 32-team invitational. A week later on September 23, the Dashers and Racoons squared off for a third 2-1 match in a tournament final with DSHA on top again 25-21, 19-25, 15-11, this time at the 24-team West Bend Sprawl.

“We all expected it to be DSHA and Oconomowoc in the state final again,” Wendlick shares. “But we had to focus on ourselves and not let it get in our heads for the rest of the season.”

A test on the road.

The following weekend, the Dashers played in the Asics Challenge—an invitational tournament with 24 of the top teams from Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Kentucky. They lost their only match of the season to top-five nationally-ranked (at the time) Mother McAuley out of Chicago, finishing 3rd overall.

“This was some of the most competitive volleyball we have played,” says Quest. “We had the goal to be champions, and preparing for that game, we knew it was going to be tough. Overall we played a really good game and fell short. But after, we understood where we needed to get better. It pushed us outside of our comfort zone so we could continue to grow. We learned but we didn’t let it hinder us.”

Back to state.

The team went undefeated for the remainder of regular-season play. After securing regional and sectional championships they were back to the Resch Center to play for a second consecutive WIAA state title. DSHA defeated River Falls 3-0 (25-12, 25-6, 25-11) and Hamilton 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-7) before meeting Oconomowoc in the finals—and for the fourth time that season.

“The biggest thing for us was to not get caught up in the pressure, and use the rivalry to fuel the energy of the game,” says Quest. “We knew we could win if we focused on our game.” Wendlick adds, “We made it a healthy pressure. It was taking a step back to realize how special of a game this is—win or lose, everyone was still going to be proud of us.”

Both Quest and Wendlick note the difference between this year and last when it comes to defending a title and being ranked number one in state for the majority of the year. “Last year we were ranked number two. This year at the number one spot, we had to learn to play from outside of the underdog position,” says Quest. Wendlick adds, “Last year we had nothing to lose. This year we did. We took it as motivation and put it into hard work that took us all the way to state.”

For the second year in a row DSHA and Oconomowoc took the state championship game to five sets, with DSHA coming out on top in another thriller, 3-2 (25-14, 20-25, 25-27, 25-22, 15-8).

Quest and Wendlick use the words “intense” and “fun” to describe their final match of the year. Despite the pressure of these big moments—that can especially intensify in a sport that uses rally-scoring—the Dashers had “so much fun” because of the trust the team had for one another. Both girls emphasize that all six athletes on the floor at any given time could trust their teammates to have the skill to tackle the play at hand. Whether covering a hitter or locked-in serve receive communication, their trust in one another gave them confidence to “play big in big moments” as Quest says.

The most fun.

When Quest and Wendlick are asked to reflect on their season as a whole, they do point to winning back-to-back state titles. But their emphasis is on how grateful they are for their team and teammates. Quest says, “When we think back on this season, we won’t remember the hard practices or the hard loss. Or even our record. We will all look back and remember the team and the memories, and how we grew from our relationships with each other. We learned how to be leaders, and we learned about ourselves as players and teammates. Those are the things that last.”

Quest will return for her senior season next fall, while Wendlick will be playing Division 1 college volleyball. “It is hard to put into words what DSHA Volleyball has meant to me,” says Wendlick, who started her DSHA Volleyball career on the freshman A team. “To see how much progress we have all made—the whole team and to do it with such awesome people and build the relationships and bonds we have… This has been the most fun.”

Record: 47-1 (overall), 8-0 (GMC)

Notable Recognitions:

Sophia Wendlick, DSHA ’24 | 1st Team All-American (AVAC); 1st Team All-State; GMC Player of the Year, 1st Team All-GMC, Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association All-Tournament Team
Ava Kharitou, DSHA ’24, and Nadia Perkovich, DSHA ’24 | AVAC Best & Brightest
Madison Quest, DSHA ’25 | 1st Team All-American (Max Prep); Gatorade Wisconsin Player of the Year; MaxPrep Wisconsin Player of the Year; VolleyBallMag.com Wisconsin Player of the Year; 1st Team All State; 1st Team All-GMC
Jordan Czajkowski, DSHA ’25 | 1st Team All-State; 1st Team All-GMC
Olivia Durst, DSHA ’25 | 2nd Team All-State; 2nd Team All-GMC
Maddie Brown, DSHA ’26 | Honorable Mention All-State; 2nd Team All-GMC

Team Captains: Caroline Harris, DSHA ’24, and Sophia Wendlick, DSHA ’24

Team Chaplains: Ava Kharitou, DSHA ’24, and Nadia Perkovich, DSHA ’24

Coaches: Head Coach Caitie Ratkowski, DSHA ’02; and Caitlyn Coffey, DSHA ’14

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