Dodge, Jakscht, Santos named to first team
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
The East Troy High School girls volleyball team recently placed seven players on this year’s All-Rock Valley Conference North Division squads.
Leading the way was junior M.E. Dodge, who was a unanimous pick as the player of the year. She was joined on the first team by fellow juniors Katrina Santos and Chloe Jakscht.
Second-team picks were junior Carly Atchison and senior Katie Hodges, while honorable mention selections were sophomore Natalee Bearce and senior Jenna Hodges.
East Troy finished the year a perfect 10-0 in conference play and 32-8 overall. The Trojans fell in a sectional semifinal to eventual Division 2 state champion Catholic Memorial.
Dodge, a first-team, all-state selection as well, was dominant all season.
She finished the year with 673 kills, 52 aces, 55 blocks (38 solo, 17 assisted) and 434 digs.
“M.E. had a great season overall,” East Troy coach Jeremy Weis said. “She has really learned how to make her teammates better around her. She has led by example all year long. She is one of my hardest-working girls on and off the court.”
The good news for the Trojans is Dodge, who already has committed to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is her game can still improve, Weis said.
And that’s not good news for the opposition.
“She always has lots of growth yet,” Weis said. “She knows that in order for us to make a return-trip to state that she will have to continue to fine tune her game.
“She has never disappointed me with her desire to win, and that drive will keep her motivated to keep improving.”
Santos finished second on the team in kills behind Dodge with 331. She also recorded 41 blocks (28 solo, 13 assisted) and 25 digs.
“Katrina has made huge strides from last year,” Weis said. “She is a much more versatile player in the front row. Katrina can run all of the different routes that you would want out of a dominating offensive player.”
Santos also gives the Trojans another valuable offensive weapon with Dodge, and having those two back for another season will be key to their success, Weis said.
“Katrina’s growth is as important as M.E.’s growth is to the team,” he said. “Other teams know that M.E. is going to get her kills. We just need Katrina to be as dominating as M.E.
“If we can do that next year, we will have a good shot at contending for a state berth.”
The Trojans’ third first-team selection, Jakscht, racked up 739 assists this season. She also had 124 kills, 34 aces, 53 blocks (29 solo, 24 assisted) and 203 digs.
“Chloe has had a great season as well for us,” Weis said. “She stepped right into the setter’s role and has done a great job.
“She also gives us a huge weapon offensively when she is not setting. Not many girls can do what she does both in setting and hitting.”
Atchison had 49 aces, 397 digs and 38 assists, while Katie Hodges finished with 48 aces, 336 digs and 25 assists. Bearce had 56 kills, 34 aces, 58 blocks (18 solo, 40 assisted) and 62 digs, followed by Jenna Hodges with 52 aces, 90 digs and 279 assists.
Weis said work already has begun with 2015 in mind – and with a lineup loaded with talented juniors, the Trojans expect to again be in the mix.
“Well, in the off-season, we need to of course address our serving issues (from) late in the season,” he said. “We also need to find another one to two players that can take some of the load offensively from M.E. and Katrina.
“We will be trying to develop some players that can hit a variety of shots as well as doing that at a very high level.”
