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

Over at Cheese & Volleyball, we're just days away from completing a 28-day series of posts that preview every WIAA boys and girls sectional in the state. We've enjoyed the process, but as you might expect, it involved a whole lot of research. When it comes right down to it, there's nothing simple about trying to learn about teams and players we have, in many instances, never seen play.



So that gave us an idea: Without looking back at our notes, we decided to free-associate the names of the five girls players who intrigued us the most as we were writing about their all-state, all-area, all-conference, all-this, all-that and all-the-other thing credentials.



Put differently, who would we drive to see if we had the time (which we don't) and gas money (which we again don't) to watch a match anywhere in the state? All the players identified below are obviously talented, but please understand we're not claiming they are (or are not) the best players in the state. They're simply the first five that came to mind from four solid weeks of researching volleyball in the state:



Heather Bowe, MH, Regis, Soph. Our fictitious road trip would start with a trip to beautiful Eau Claire, Wisconsin to take in a Ramblers match. This would, of course, give us the opportunity to watch super sophomore Heather Bowe, the 6' middle who from all accounts is an incredible force at the net. She earned second-team Cloverbelt West all-conference accolades last season as a freshman.



Nikki Dailey, S, Franklin, Sr. From Eau Claire, we'd drive to the Milwaukee suburbs for a chance to watch the Franklin Sabers and their superstar senior setter Nikki Dailey. And we'd imagine what it's gonna be like watching this first-team all-stater down the road when she returns to her home state as an Iowa Hawkeye.



Erin Lehman, Green Bay Notre Dame, Soph. From Franklin, we'd head north in the general direction of the ultimate girls high school volleyball destination: the Resch Center. Before reaching that hallowed location, however, we'd stop by Green Bay Notre Dame to watch star sophomore Erin Lehman showcase her considerable offensive skills from the middle and/or outside hitting positions.



Kortney Morrin, OH, Grantsburg, Jr. If the southeastern part of the state tends to get most of the attention, Kortney Morrin seems to be one outstanding reason to let the collective volleyball consciousness drift north and west. Her 2008 numbers are eye-popping: 438 kills, 80 aces and 268 digs. Last year, she led her to team to a runner-up finish in D3. The only danger, of course, with some of these western road trips is the risk of seeing someone in the stands wearing a purple #4 jersey with the word "Favre" on the back. But it would be more than worth it to see some terrific volleyball.



Erica Willadsen, OH, Cochrane-Fountain City, Sr. The last stop on our fictitious road trip would be to one of those hyphenated D4 schools: in this case, Cochrane-Fountain City. There, we would watch Erica Willadsen, who has been described as "the real deal." Her stats would seem to bear out that claim: more than 1,100 kills in her first three seasons alone, including more than 30 in a five-set heartbreaker in last season's playoffs.



OK, that's enough travel for one week. We'll be back next Monday with another "Hitting Lines" post. In the meantime, tell us which five players you'd most like to see on your fictitious girls volleyball road trip. If possible (and we realize it may not be) try to avoid the urge to name your daughter or your daughter's teammates. There's a lot of great volleyball all over this state. LET'S TALK IT UP.