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Junior, Rylie Vaughn, and senior All-American, Mariah Whalen, led Newman Catholic, the 3-time defending state champions, into the state championship once again by defeating Seneca 3-0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-6) in a Division 4 state semifinal. Seneca put up a good fight in the 1st set, finding themselves tied at 18-18, but Mariah Whalen scored the next two points with aces, and eventually Newman Catholic was able to pull away. Whalen and Vaughn talked about how speeding the pace of the game up, and aggressive serving were the keys to the 2nd and 3rd sets for Newman Catholic. Whalen dominated the match with 23 kills and 7 aces, and Vaughn also contributed 14 kills and 22 assists. Seneca was led by Aliva Salinas (4 aces, 13 digs), and Emily Garfoot (11 assists, 5 digs). Seneca head coach, Dawn Ray, reiterated how proud she is of her team, and that “there is nothing to be sad about.”  Newman Catholic will take its shot against Clayton Saturday morning at 9:00am to become the 1st 4-peat state champion in state history.  

After finishing last year with a 1st round exit at the state tournament, the Clayton Bears were hungry to make it a round further this year, they did just that. Clayton won a hard-fought match 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 26-24) over Randolph. Randolph stayed competitive through all 3 sets, but could never quite put together enough momentum to take a lead and pull away. Tied at 24-24 in the 3rd set, Clayton sophomore, Selena Levendoski was able to strike down two kills to give her team the victory. Clayton was lead by their sophomores, Levendoski (18 kills), Alison Leslie (20 kills), and Marissa Gilbertson (42 assists). Randolph had strong showings from Madelyn Kohn (19 assists), and Morgan Paul (8 kills, 13 digs). Randolph senior, Brenna Huizenga, said she is very proud of her team and their ability to stay composed and positive throughout the match. Clayton head coach, Sadie Schradle, talked about how her team is excited to finally take their shot at taking down Newman Catholic. Clayton will take on Newman Catholic Saturday morning at 9:00am in the Division 4 state championship game.