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Not 1, not 2, but for the 3rd straight year Catholic Memorial will be taking the gold ball back to Waukesha after defeating Notre Dame 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-14) in the Division 2 state championship game. Catholic Memorial has now won 6 state titles, all in the last 10 years.
 
Catholic Memorial struggled in the first half of the match. Catholic Memorial was able to squeak a close 25-23 1st set win after trading points with Notre Dame most of the set. Both teams were putting the ball down well in the 1st set, but tied at 21, Catholic Memorial was able to get two crucial points from kills by Lexi Alden and Jenna Weinfurt that eventually lead to their 1st set win. The 2nd set was one of the craziest sets of volleyball in state history that featured a 12-point comeback from Catholic Memorial. Notre Dame stormed out to a 16-4 lead and seemingly looked like they could not be stopped. Catholic Memorial then responded with a 21-3 run to win the set 25-19. Kat Christian, who has led the team in aces the past two seasons, served up 5 aces during a 12-0 run.

Catholic Memorial carried the momentum they gained in the 2nd set right into the 3rd set. It may not be possible to play “perfect” volleyball, but Catholic Memorial was playing nearly flawless in the 3rd set. Jumping out to a 12-3 lead, Catholic Memorial raced to the finish and took the 3rd 25-14.

Catholic Memorial featured a balanced attack; 4 players recorded 6 kills or more, Lexi Alden (15 kills), Ivey Whalen (11 kills, 4 aces), Maddy Rondeau (7 kills, 23 assists, 7 digs), and Jenna Weinfurt (6 kills). Notre Dame had strong performances from Grace Campbell (9 kills), Morgan Van Drisse (6 kills), Corrine Meglic (24 assists, 8 digs, 4 kills), and Sydney Slack (6 kills, 10 digs).
 
Notre Dame head coach, Ben Wolf was very proud of his team after the match, “Win or lose, this is the greatest stage to go out on. We fought; we came out and played Triton Volleyball. CMH is a great team; volleyball is a game of runs, and the run at the end of set 2 and into set 3 was huge for them. They served aggressive, and our serve receive struggled, when the passing went south for us it was tough because it put pressure on our outsides to make plays on their double block. We have nothing to hang our heads about, we are champions no matter what the color of our trophy is.” Junior Sydney Slack said, “We showed that we can hang with anyone, no matter what the rankings are, and I think we proved that tonight.”

Catholic Memorial head coach, Ted Shulte, commented, “The 2nd set I had no idea what we were doing, but then we said enough of that. They just realized they were capable of doing so much more.” Lexi Alden smoke about the 2nd set, “Coach just said, ‘Are you overwhelmed by this situation?’ And we said we have nothing to lose, and we just started going out there and started fighting.” Shulte added when asked about the legacy his senior class will leave, a senior class that features two Big Ten commits, Lexi Alden (Maryland) and Ivey Whalen (Northwestern), ”These seniors leave a legacy of hard work, performance, and success, but we also have a lot of fun and we enjoy each other’s company and working through things together.”