By Murray Gleffe, Correspondent
The Jaguar volleyball team finished the 2017-18 season with an 18-17 overall record (5-4 in the FRCC).
The team started off 1-7 and 3-9, and then hit their stride over the Labor Day weekend.
Starting with the Rhinelander matchup, the Jaguars ripped off 11 wins out of 14 matches played. During the run, the squad picked up wins over the likes of Green Bay New Lutheran, Antigo, Seymour, De Pere, Appleton Xavier, DeForest and Stevens Point.
It put the team back on track, and gave them the confidence they needed to compete down the stretch into Regionals.
Down the back half of the conference schedule, the Jaguars won three straight matches over Green Bay Southwest, Pulaski, and Green Bay Preble by giving up only two sets out of eleven played.
The Jaguars won their Regional opener over the Phantoms of West De Pere in a dramatic 3-2 victory, and then finished their season by losing to the Hortonville Polar Bears in four tough sets.
The FRCC coaches rewarded three Jaguar players with all-conference honors for their performances on the hardwood.
Maria Scherer was an assist machine for the entire year.
For the 35 games played, Scherer delivered 703 and that in turn gave her Second Team honors.
Maddie Crowley was a do-it-all player for the Jaguars.
Whether it was serving, digging, assisting, attacking, she was always around the ball.
For the season, Crowley had 318 digs, 229 kills, 56 aces, and 27 blocks and earned Second Team Honors as well for her accomplishments.
Maddie Koch is a volleyball player that you don’t want to mess with if you are an opponent.
Her 6’2 frame, massive hops, and whip on the ball make it scary to try to dig out one of her kills. As indicated below, not many were returned!
Her radiant personality and team aspect comes across in between points. Don’t let it fool you.
When the point is about to be played, she is fully engaged and ultra-intense.
The Purdue Boilermaker recruit was named Co-Player of the Year in 2017 for her tremendous efforts in guiding the Jaguars to the success they had during the campaign.
Koch ended the season with 501 kills, and 53 aces. She was a complete force on the offensive end of things, and will be counted on to be equally as strong for her senior season.
Jaguar Volleyball Final Stats (Top 5 in each category listed)
Kills
Koch 501
Crowley 229
Megan Servais 63
Scherer 62
Emily Lange 52
Aces
Crowley 56
Koch 53
Scherer 49
Emilie Pludeman 23
Katie Benson 20
Blocks
Servais 66
Koch 61
Scherer 31
Crowley 27
Allison Nitti 26
Digs
Crowley 318
Koch 282
Alyssa Bath 252
Scherer 182
Benson 112
Assists
Scherer 703
Benson 50
Bath 26
Crowley 10
Pludeman 9