Girls volleyball: Woodstock North fends off Woodstock’s upset bid for regional title

WOODSTOCK – With her team’s season teetering in the balance, Woodstock North senior outside hitter Katie Wickersheim turned and looked up over her left shoulder at the scoreboard.

It was a look of concern, disbelief and near desperation.

Her quick glance revealed visiting underdog, No. 7 seed and crosstown rival Woodstock, with a four-point (17-13) lead midway through the third and deciding set of Thursday’s Class 3A Woodstock North Regional title match.

“At that point, I was out of energy,” said Wickersheim, who had 12 digs and 12 kills. “I was just gassed. We were all out of energy. But somehow we found a way.”

The No. 1 seeded Thunder dug deep, then somehow climbed back. They scored the final 12 points of the match, capturing their own regional crown 17-25, 25-18, 25-17 in front of a huge crowd that admittedly gave some players jitters.

“I’m still not sure how we stayed so calm,” Thunder senior captain Kylie Schulze said. “There was just so much adrenaline flowing through me. But staying calm was the key. Because this place got electric, which was an element none of us had experienced all season.”

Schulze’s nerves certainly didn’t show. She finished with 23 assists, 16 digs, four kills and three aces. She also served the match’s final 11 points.

The Thunder, who have never won a sectional title in girls volleyball, will face No. 2 seeded St. Francis in a Class 3A Burlington Central Sectional semifinal at 6 p.m. Monday.

After splitting the first two sets, the third set began like a punch for punch slugfest between a pair of heavyweight boxers.

There were 11 ties or lead changes in the first 11 points of the third set. The Streaks (19-15-1) only trailed once early in third, 4-3, before taking the lead back two points later, then raced ahead, 17-13.

But the Thunder then tallied the final dozen points, giving North its first regional title since 2019, and third in school history.

The win also pushed their record to 30-7 overall. It’s the first 30-win season in program history.

Still reeling from the excitement of holding the regional championship plaque and celebrating with her teammates and fans who stormed the court, Thunder junior Dani Hansen (six kills) reflected on the massive swing of emotions at the end of the match.

“I was kind of coming off a bit of a mental slump the past few weeks,” Hansen said. “It was stressful, because all I could think about was wanting to not make mistakes for my senior teammates. I didn’t want to let them down.”

Teammate Daniela Medina had five blocks, including a momentum-changer midway through the third set. The Thunder also got strong support from Lexi Hansen (eight kills, nine digs), Devynn Schulze (10 digs) and Emma Berner (6 digs, 1 ace).

The Thunder swept the two regular season matches between the schools, but this time felt far different.

“They always say beating a team a third time in a season can be very difficult,” Thunder coach Eric Schulze said. “Tonight we learned just how true that is.

“Everything we tried in the opening set we lost, Woodstock had an answer for. Their back line was digging everything we hit, you gotta give their players a ton of credit. They came in here with nothing to lose and played loose.”

Streaks junior outside hitter Hallie Steponaitis wreaked havoc near the net, tallying 10 kills.

But it wasn’t enough to finish off the potential upset.

“I’m blown away and beyond proud of how these girls handled themselves tonight in this kind of atmosphere,” Woodstock coach Jim Neill said. “There were a few calls that didn’t go our way, but those are the breaks.

“We graduate eight varsity seniors, and these girls have put in so much effort, so much hard work. This was a tough way to end their careers, but they left it all out there and have nothing to be ashamed about.”