Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

Catholic Memorial 3, Xavier 0



Box Score



Catholic Memorial cruised to its second title since 2006, easliy discarding Xavier 25-18, 25-14, 25-17 Saturday afternoon at the Resch Center in the Division 2 State finals.



The Crusaders were led by a great match from a pair of juniors in Outside Hitter Kate Acker and Middle Hitter Kelli Browning, who registered 15 and 13 kills at a combined .324 clip. Senior setter Diane McLeod added 37 assists and 10 digs in the sweep.



Xavier was able to run the ball through the Middle relatively effectively with Middle Hitters Lauren DeShaney and Carlye Schuh hitting around and over the Catholic Memorial block. The Crusaders meanwhile dominated the antennae with Acker and junior Aly Kujawa anchoring the Outsides. Browning and Co. proved to be too much offense for the Hawks, as Catholic Memorial stormed to a 25-18 opening set.



Xavier opened the second set with a 10-7 lead before Catholic Memorial answered back to tie the game up. The Hawks never really looked like they caught their bearings, as their receiving game kept them from running a fluid offense. Catholic Memorial picked apart the Hawk defense in game two as the Crusaders turned on the cruise control.



Poor passing leading to freeballs and easy Catholic Memorial points was the recurring theme in set three as the Hawks couldn't put together a solid run to compete with the much bigger and quicker Crusaders.



DeShaney was the only Hawk to record double-digit kills with 10. While Xavier surprisingly outblocked Catholic Memorial 5.5-2, it totalled just 28 kills on .148 hitting.



Game Ball: Senior Setter Diane McLeod's cool and confident demeanor on the floor was integral to the Crusaders' title-winning season. She recorded 37 assists and 10 digs Saturday and finished with 54 total assists for the tournament.