Hamilton beat Middleton in 5 sets to capture the program's first state title. Check out the final point and celebration.
For the first time in the history of the WIAA Division 1 girls volleyball tournament, No. 1 seed Divine Savior Holy Angels completed a three-peat of state titles with a hard-fought 25-18, 25-21, 20-25, 25-22 victory over No. 2 seed and Greater Metro Conference rival Sussex Hamilton in the title match Saturday night at the Resch Center.
The WIAA moved to a four-division tournament format for girls volleyball in 1990 and just added a fifth division for the state tournament this season. Eleven programs had previously won three consecutive state titles, but none had ever done it in Division 1 until now.
Saturday's win also marks the sixth title in program history for DSHA, putting it one away from a three-way tie with Abbotsford and Catholic Central, which Catholic Memorial broke a tie with on Saturday in the Division 2 title match.
DSHA's history-making bunch led by core trio of seniors
Saturday marked the fifth state title in Caitie Ratkowski's career at DSHA. She won the 2001 title with DSHA as a player and captured the 2015 title as a coach, but the culmination of a three-year journey and etching her and her team's name into the record books meant more than just the answer to a trivia question.
She was surrounded at the podium by her core three seniors in state player of the year favorite Madison Quest, Belmont recruit Jordan Czajkowski and Michigan State recruit Olivia Durst. When asked about the impact the trio has left on her and the program, it was hard for Ratkowski not to cry expressing the importance of her leaders, ending her thoughts with a hug from Quest, who had their newly-won gold ball sitting just off to her right on the podium.
"I don't think we've had a trio come through ... we've had good players and we've had one or two, but having these three for the three years with the three state championships, and then just also having them in the program for all four years, it's absolutely incredible," Ratkowski said.
"The mark that they've left on this program is unreal and I've been so lucky to coach them and so excited to see what they do next because I know they're all just going to be doing great things next year, but definitely want to take the time to celebrate them today because they've just been amazing. They're great people, they're great students, they're great leaders, they're great volleyball players. All three of them are the whole package. I couldn't ask for a better way for them to end this and I'm just really proud of them."
Quest led the Dashers as she usually does with 18 kills. Czajkowski led the team with 26 assists and 12 digs. Only Hamilton's Emily Zgonc (22) dug out more shots than Durst's 19 on the night.
When it was winning time, the Dashers' trio were right at the forefront. Czajkowski dished out the final three assists for DSHA, all to rising junior Addison Buckner, the presumed next in line to the throne on the outside for the Dashers once Quest departs for Madison and the Badgers program this upcoming summer. Buckner was massive for the champions, registering 13 kills, including the title-winning kill with a vertical leap that made her look like she was equipped with a rocket on her back.
"She brings a ton of energy," Quest said on Buckner. "As outside hitters, we're there supporting each other, telling each other what shots are open, so we have this special connection. She had an amazing game. ... I've loved playing with her this year."
Special was a common word used for the leadership trio, and that includes the bond they had with their teammates and with each other as Durst also tried to fight back tears with Ratkowski.
"It's just so special playing with the girls on this team," Quest said. "Winning this game was super special, and I am so proud to have done it with this team."
"I've made my best friends on this team," Czajkowski said. "It's very special."
"I feel like we trust each other a lot," Durst said. "Even at the beginning of this season, we knew the potential of this team. Some people were nervous to be on the team and that's totally understandable, but we took them under our wing and really built this team to who we are right now and we became so close because of it."
Sussex pride: Hamilton returns home with a pair of trophies
It became accustomed for Hamilton coach Traci Buhr this past week, but the Chargers coach didn't have much of a voice left to express her thoughts after coming one win short of a second state title in her coaching career.
But, she expressed the immense pride she had in the Sussex community for their support and for her team trying to battle back from an 0-2 hole against the best team in the state and one of the best teams in the entire nation.
"DS is, you know, a three-time state champion," Buhr said. "They are one of the best little dynasties to come out of Wisconsin in quite a while, and to come out the way that we did and to never give up, I have nothing but pride for my girls and my players. They're good. I mean, their seniors were leading it. They didn't want to go out without that gold ball."
After falling behind two sets early, the Chargers punched their way back into the fight with a 25-20 victory in the third set, which was the only set anyone took off DSHA in the three-day tournament. The Chargers held a 16-13 advantage in the fourth set as Ratkowski took a timeout, but the Dashers sprinted past the battle-tested Chargers down the stretch into the history books.
"We gave them a fight," Buhr said. "We talked all year about fear. We saw our sectional. We saw our path. We saw our route and in our team, one of the things that we had fear of was not being able to reach our goals. Having to go through Arrowhead and (Menomonee) Falls to reach DS, we became fearless. We learned how to fight and we learned how to play with love and respect for each other."
Despite the shortcoming on Saturday, the Chargers return home with a pair of trophies after the Chargers captured their first boys state title Friday night. Senior leader Eva Finnessy, senior right side Addison Schoenberger and their teammates ended up on the floor celebrating with the boys, which Finnessy admitted in hilarious fashion that they weren't allowed to do. Still, the sense of pride oozed through the entire community this week.
"We were so excited for them," Finnessy said of the boys. "We call them our brothers. That joy for them, we felt that. We were up in that game. We could feel it in ourselves. We were so excited for them. We were waiting for them with ice cream at the hotel and we were just there excited with them. I'm so happy having them here and cheering us on."
"They had to go home last night because they didn't have hotels, but they all came back to watch us play," Schoenberger said. "And those that couldn't come, they're watching it on their TVs cheering for us. (The boys) posted on their Instagram to come to our game. It's just amazing."