Three times, all charms for Crusaders

Even last year, when Catholic Memorial girls volleyball coach Ted Schulte was soaking in a second consecutive state championship, he had a feeling his team would be back at the top in 2011. Considering his team was graduating four immensely talented seniors - three ticketed to play at NCAA Division 1 colleges and one at Division 2 - that seemed ambitious.

"But I also had really incredible underclassmen that no one was thinking about because they never got their name in the paper," Schulte said. "They all fit into place. I had a setter, a middle hitter, a great libero. It wasn't like I had seven outside hitters and had to find a place for them. It was good talent and a good mix of positions."

Memorial stormed to a third consecutive Division 2 state championship, taking down Tomahawk in convincing fashion last Saturday at the Resch Center in Green Bay. In the postseason, the Classic 8 champs defeated teams with five conference titles and a combined record of 191-82.

"It means there's depth to the program," Schulte said. "I have a great freshman coach, Kate Fitzgerald. She truly really teaches you to get so much about the game of volleyball, how to compete, how to win. Jenny Hahn, my JV coach, was the tactician, the strategist. (The players are) pretty darn good by the time I get a hold of them."

The Crusaders (46-6) were a picture of balance in the 25-18, 25-13, 25-19 win of the championship game, hitting .465 as a unit and playing what Schulte their best match of the year. CMH picked up eight kills or more from five individuals - Aly Dawson (15), Amanda Hansen (10), Mary Kate Dougherty (9), Kaitlyn Hastings (8) and Greta Davis (8). Sara Connell set the table with 48 assists, and Lindsey Casper keyed the back row with 12 digs.

"We really did achieve a completeness of what it was to be a great team," Schulte said.

Schulte's theme for the year was "Into the Light," a slogan that encouraged players to make a name for themselves after emerging from the shadows of last year's senior class, featuring hitters Kate Acker and Aly Kujawa, libero Patti Abshire and middle hitter Kelli Browning.

"You have to lay an image in their head of where success will come from and how you're going to get there and what it looks like," Schulte said. "It wasn't just for the four seniors (Davis, Hansen, Hastings, Connell) this year; it was for everybody to walk in the sunshine."

In the final, Schulte said it was a standout match for the South Dakota recruit Hastings, whose move to outside hitter from back-row specialist this year was complicated when she sustained a knee injury in the off-season.

"She was getting used to the brace, which hindered her much of the season," Schulte said. "Finally, in the last weekend, she was moving fluidly and playing like the player I'm sure she would have been the whole year."

Schulte also said one of the wild cards coming into the season was Davis, who possessed the athleticism to thrive at middle blocker but didn't have as extensive a club volleyball background as her teammates.

Dawson, committed to play for Marquette University after her senior year next year, and Hansen, who will join Connell at Seton Hall, figured to be sure bets in the front row.

"Who are you going to defend on our team? Attacks came from everywhere," Schulte said.

Connell and Dawson were named first-team All State by the state coaches assocaition, and Hansen was second team. Casper and Davis were named honorable mention.