NEW Lutheran volleyball falls in state semifinal, while Bay Port wins first match

ASHWAUBENON – The Northeastern Wisconsin Lutheran girls volleyball program waited 19 years to earn a trip back to the WIAA state tournament.

It will have to wait at least one more to get its first win on the big stage.

NEW Lutheran had its season end in four sets against Central Wisconsin Christian in a WIAA Division 5 semifinal at the Resch Center on Nov. 5, losing 25-22, 21-25, 25-22, 25-20.

It was the Blazers’ first loss in a best-of-five format in 2026 and came against the same team that ended their season in a sectional semifinal last year.

Senior setter and Lakeland University commit Olivia Kirchner led NEW with a match-high 32 assists, senior outside hitter and Wisconsin Lutheran College commit Kiley Dhein had a team-high 13 kills and senior libero Meredith Lemke-Scott finished with 19 digs.

“It was a great match,” said NEW coach Michael Schmidt, who is in his 14th season with the team and has more than 300 career wins. “I knew it was going to be a battle all the way through. We scouted them well. We knew what they were capable of, we knew what we were capable of.

“Just having a chance to be here on the floor and lay it all out there, that was really great. Really awesome.”

The Blazers trailed the Crusaders after one set, which was just the second set they had lost since regional play started.

But it was nothing to panic about.

NEW (33-12) dropped the first set to Florence in a sectional championship and responded by winning three straight to punch its ticket to state.

It looked like it might happen again.

The Blazers broke a 17-all tie in the second set on a kill by Paige Loock and extended the lead after two more kills from Dhein.

The Crusaders (31-8) got to within 22-21, but NEW responded by scoring the final four points to even the match at one set.

“In a match of five, that first set is so big,” Central Wisconsin Christian coach Dan TenNapel said. “They come back and win set two. That third set, when it’s tied 1-1, that just dictates so much of the match. It takes so much pressure off you, puts so much pressure on the other team.”

It was Central Wisconsin Christian that put all the pressure back on NEW.

It was cruising in the third set after taking a 19-12 lead, and even after the Blazers roared back to tie the score at 22, the Crusaders won the last three points to close out the set.  

“I think with how things got toward the end, it is hard to come back,” Schmidt said. “We were battling, battling, battling and then we just had too many errors at really inopportune times.

“We had some net touches that didn’t go our way. We had some serves that didn’t go our way. It’s really hard to be successful when we are making errors ourselves.”

The Crusaders took a 7-6 lead in the fourth set and never relinquished it, advancing to the title match on Nov. 7 against Turtle Lake.

Perhaps the biggest number that stood out between the teams was service errors and aces.

While NEW had 16 service errors and Central Wisconsin Christian 15, the Crusaders had 11 aces compared to just three for the Blazers.

“We work on it every day in practice,” Schmidt said. “But it’s a big game, it’s a big match, big day. We got brought in by a police motorcade, which is fantastic. Got to ride in a coach bus, they had the sirens on and everything. It was amazing. I’ve never gotten through Green Bay that fast.

“But it’s just a big day, and the girls know it’s a big day. Nerves get a little jittery. Focus gets a little bit off. But those are the numbers. That many service errors is going to hurt you.”

As disappointing as the loss was, it was difficult for the coaching staff and players to not appreciate what they accomplished this season and the mark they left on a program that had not been able to break through to state in almost two decades.

Schmidt doesn’t believe the wait to get back to this point will be near as long, and his senior class helped lay the foundation for what the team hopes is a sustained run.

“This senior class has just been incredible to play with,” Dhein said. “We played together for so long. Some of us for six years, some of us eight years, playing in the middle school level.

“I think the best part of this class is we were all leaders. We embraced the underclassmen and the freshmen and we brought them together. We brought a lot of them along to state. The legacy we leave behind is that you can go chase that dream that you set, and it’s possible.”

Bay Port cruises into Division 1 semifinals

Complete domination.

That’s how Bay Port won the first state match in program history in a D1 quarterfinal against Chippewa Falls.

The Pirates swept the Cardinals 25-14, 25-13, 25-11 and needed just 53 minutes to do it.  

Bay Port (25-8) will play Kimberly (38-4) in a state semifinal at 1 p.m. on Nov. 6.

“Made history,” Bay Port coach Mackenzie Hurst said. “We knew we were a good team, but we were going to be tested today. We prepared for them and it looks like we got it done.”

Bay Port has lost just one set in four tournament matches and didn’t come close to dropping one against Chippewa Falls.

There was no shortage of impressive performances for the Pirates.

Senior setter Meghan Bruss had a match-high 27 assists. Junior outside hitter Alexia Stephens led all players with 12 kills and senior libero Taylor Russell did the same with 8 digs.

Bay Port finished with a .371 hitting percentage, while Chippewa Falls had a minus .057.

The Cardinals were in the match early in the first set when they led 6-5, but the Pirates responded by winning seven straight points and 12 of 13 to run away with the set.

When Chippewa Falls tied the second set at 7, Bay Port again responded by scoring 10 straight points.

There wasn’t even a hint of suspense in the final set.

Bay Port scored the first two points and eight of the first 10 and never trailed.

It now faces a Kimberly team that swept Franklin 25-20, 25-19, 25-17 in a semifinal.

The Papermakers are the No. 2 seed in the tournament and Bay Port the No. 3.

Kimberly beat Bay Port 2-0 at the Triton Classic in September.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: NEW Lutheran volleyball falls in state semifinal, while Bay Port wins first match