Thirty-five years.
That’s how long it’s been since the Marion volleyball team has shared or won a Central Wisconsin Conference championship.
Although the Mustangs had already wrapped up the CWC-North title, they put an exclamation point on an undefeated conference season Oct. 13 with a three-game sweep of Tigerton.
The 25-13, 25-11, 25-22 victory capped Marion’s second two-match sweep of the Tigers. The Mustangs also had two sweeps over Bowler and Gresham during the season, and the team’s other four CWC-North wins were 3-0 and 3-1 victories over Northland Lutheran and White Lake, respectively.
Coach Charlotte Baldwin said the championship is the first for the program since the Mustangs shared the title with Amherst in 1991 and the first outright championship since 1989.
“It’s pretty amazing,” she said. “These girls have worked hard all season long. A lot of these girls are playing club (volleyball) in the offseason and putting in the work. That really what it comes down to: being able to be a team and adjust to differences.”
Winning a CWC-North championship was one of the team’s goals at the start of the season, according to Baldwin.
“Start with a conference championship and move on to regionals,” she said. “They want to get past the second round this year. Last year, we made it to the second round of regionals, and it had been quite awhile since we had done that.”
Finishing the regular season doesn’t mean the Mustangs didn’t face competitive teams in the CWC-North, according to Baldwin.
“I wouldn’t say it was the competition,” she said. “A lot of it was just being able to have as many weapons as we have. The girls took the opportunity to really utilize everybody. Our setter sets everybody up, and there were multiple times when everybody on our team hit. That’s huge. That’s a really hard thing to adjust to.”
Marion improved its overall match record to 22-2 with the win over the Tigers.
The first loss was a 2-1 defeat to Elcho in a season-opening meet Aug. 27. The other was a three-game sweep Sept. 17 to Wild Rose on the Wildcats’ home court.
“I think it was a little bit of a wakeup call,” Baldwin said. “We had holes, and we used that opportunity to grow and learn.”
The Mustangs didn’t lose another match the rest of the regular season and Baldwin said heading into the WIAA state tournament on a winning note is big.
“The girls have confidence,” she said. “We’re a young team, and any confidence is huge.”
The Mustangs are a No. 3 seed in Division 5 for the state tournament and won’t play again until they host Tigerton — a No. 6 seed — or 11th-seeded Bowler Oct. 22 in a regional semifinal.
“It is a very long time off and we’re going to utilize it, prepare once we find out our matchup and be ready to go,” Baldwin said. “We are going to see someone pretty good. We just have to have confidence and believe in our girls.”
The community support for the team has been strong all year, Baldwin said.
“I think it’s growing as we’re winning,” she said. “They’re seeing something great happen, and it’s starting from the ground up. We’re getting everybody involved starting with the little kids. We had Youth Night tonight. The girls are getting excited, and this is a great way to get them excited.”
Baldwin had a feeling the Mustangs could be in for a special season.
“I came into the season being hopeful,” she said. “I always tell the girls not to put all their eggs in one basket and don’t count them until they’re all there. It’s one game at a time, one point at a time and keep pushing. The girls put in the work. They wanted this, and they worked hard all season to get it.”
Marion’s Addyson Mielke waits for a serve from Tigerton’s Mya Smith. (Greg Seubert)
Madeline Wudstrack reacts after Marion scores a point against Tigerton in the third game to complete a three-game sweep over the Tigers. (Greg Seubert)
Marion volleyball team players and coaches show off their Central Wisconsin Conference-North championship T-shirts and trophy Oct. 13 after the Mustangs finished the regular season with a 10-0 record with a 3-0 sweep of Tigerton. (Contributed)
