Witt-Birn continues to churn out strong volleyball teams

Year after year, the Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School volleyball team is in the hunt for a conference title.

It doesn’t matter if the team graduated several impact seniors from the season prior or even if the team lost a few all-conference players, the Chargers are always near the top of the conference standings.

This year is no different, as Witt-Birn is now 4-0 in Central Wisconsin Conference-East Division play after sweeping Menominee Indian 25-18, 25-13, 25-21 on Sept. 23 in Wittenberg.

The Chargers came into the season following a conference title in 2020, when the team finished with a perfect record. Three of the five all-conference players from that team graduated, including the conference’s Player of the Year McKenna Foster, but it hasn’t slowed the team to this point.

“Honestly, the girls and the time they put in,” said Witt-Birn coach Becky Rew, the conference’s Coach of the Year in 2020, on what keeps the team competitive each season.

“We have girls that are three-sport athletes and playing club (volleyball). We have girls who come all summer long and bust their butt at open gyms and agilities and summer league and everything else. It’s how much work they put in and how hard they go.”

While the team has graduated several big-time players each year, there always seems to be another player ready to step up and continue the team’s success.

Junior Reese Rogowski and sophomore London Metropulos — both all-conference players from last year — are helping lead the charge this season. Rogowski leads the team in kills, with Metropulos in second.

Juniors Payton Foster and Lilly Betry share setting duties for the Chargers.

Junior Kiara Deruchowski, senior Jadalynn Davids and sophomore Layla Huffman fill out this year’s starting lineup, but the team also has had several other players produce when needed this year.

It was a complete team effort in the team’s sweep of Menominee Indian, especially after Rogowski left with an injury.

Rogowski still led the team with 15 attack kills, while Metropulos added 10 attack kills and seven digs.

Foster finished the night with 13 assists and six aces. Betry provided 15 assists and nine digs.

Deruchowski posted nine digs for the Chargers, while Davids and Huffman had four block kills each. Davids also had seven digs.

“I think it’s everyone’s teamwork, getting to know each other and every position,” said Davids on how the team succeeds each season. “Knowing that, even if one person gets hurt, that multiple people can go into that spot. It proves that pushing hard at practice will help us improve every single game.”

Since Rew took over the program in 2017, the Chargers have captured three out of a possible four conference titles, with 2018 being the lone year the team fell short.

Dating back to 2010, Witt-Birn has won seven of 11 possible titles.

The juniors on the team are hoping to end their careers with four CWC-East titles. Rew used that as a motivation tool for the juniors, and even the sophomores.

“Definitely,” said Rogowski on whether the past CWC-East titles serve as motivation. “It really motivates us to win each conference game and put other teams away as quick as we can so we can secure the conference championship.”

“Every year is pressure; every game that we play to get those four years in, that’s the goal,” added Betry.

Rogowski added that she and the team thought there might be lots of holes to fill this season, but that the talent from some of the program’s younger players has helped the team get to this point.

As the team attempts to chase down a third-straight conference title, it does so with only three seniors on the roster, so nine of the 12 varsity players figure to be back again next season.

Before thinking about a possible four-peat, the Chargers have two more conference matches to win this season — Oct.5 at Amherst and Oct. 12 against Weyauwega-Fremont at home.

sports@newmedia-wi.com