By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
And then there were four.
After a full season of 40 matches, two more wins are all that stand in the way of the East Troy volleyball team and their second Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 2 state title in three years.
But it won’t be easy, that’s for sure.
East Troy locked up the school’s third state tournament berth last weekend with sectional victories over Edgewood and Platteville.
The Trojans, 31-9 overall, will face Altoona (44-3) Friday afternoon in one 4 p.m. state semifinal at the Resch Center, Green Bay. Altoona is making its third state appearance.
In the other semifinal, Notre Dame (38-5), making its first trip to state, faces defending state champion Catholic Memorial (35-14), which also won state titles in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
But before the Trojans can get to another match with Catholic Memorial, they need to take care of Altoona, East Troy coach Jeremy Weis said.
“Altoona is a very solid team,” he said. “They have a great record, and they have the two Springer sisters (Kristi and KaSandra), who have a lot of kills for them on the year.
“They are two good outsides, and they look to get them the ball as much as possible and in as many different locations along the net.”
Heading into the match, KaSandra Springer, a senior, has 545 kills, while her sister, Kristi, a junior, has 487, to lead Altoona’s attack.
Leaders for East Troy prior to the semifinal include M.E. Dodge with 627 kills, 40 aces, 48 blocks and 393 digs; Brianna Scuric with 246 kills and 81 aces; Katrina Santos with 217 kills and 58 blocks; Carly Atchison with 39 aces and 367 digs; Chloe Jakscht with 34 aces, 219 digs and 941 assists; Natalee Bearce with 44 blocks; and Mati Jakscht with 221 digs and 156 assists.
The game plan for Friday remains the same, Weis said.
“The keys to Friday are the same as they have been all year long,” he said. “(We need) to take care of the things that we can control, like serving aggressively and serving the right player, being able to pass the ball well and to be aggressive with our swings.
“If we can also cut down on any errors, that would be a huge help as well.”
Dream matchup?
Should East Troy and Catholic Memorial both advance, it would set up a battle for the title Saturday at 2:05 p.m. between the state’s two top-ranked teams.
Catholic Memorial beat East Troy 2-1 at the West Bend Sprawl in late-September. The Crusaders defeated the Trojans in a sectional semifinal last year to pave the way for their state title.
But Weis said he knows there’s business to attend to before that can happen.
“It would be a great final match of the year, one that most volleyball fans would be looking forward to,” he said. “But first, we will need to take care of business against Altoona on Friday night.”
Weis said the excitement around the program continues to build, and he hopes it reaches a fever pitch by the weekend.
“This is a great time to be an East Troy Trojan,” he said. “I hope that the community can come together and make the trip up to Green Bay to support this hard-working group of girls.
“East Troy athletics have been very fortunate lately to have as many teams as we have had to make a run at state, but it’s extremely difficult to make it to state and to win it.
“This group of girls have gone the extra mile to make sure that they are in the right position to win a state championship this year. The entire community has a group of girls that they can be extremely proud of.”
