Volleyball: Shawano’s Wilber makes first team

SHAWANO — A trio of Shawano Community High School volleyball players earned all-conference honors in the Bay Conference following strong seasons on the court.

Senior Katelyn Wilber landed on the first team, while senior Abi Vomastic and junior Rachel Reed each made the second team.

Wilber not only served as a leader for her team, but stuffed the stat sheet every match.

The senior finished the season with a team-leading 185 assists and 36 serving aces. Wilber also accumulated 77 total kills and 137 digs.

“It feels really great,” said Wilber on the first team honor. “I felt honored and very prideful. It truly meant a lot to me.”

Being able to be a first team selection in her final high school season made the honor that much more special to Wilber.

“My final year I wanted to play with everything I had and receiving that award made me feel assured that everyone could see that,” said Wilber. “I love this sport very much and I wanted to end on a very good note.”

Vomastic also was proud to have achieved an all-conference honor as a senior, despite believing she would make the first team.

“It is special to me because I know that I made an impact on our team as a whole, and I cannot wait to see what they do next year,” said Vomastic.

She led the team with 135 attack kills and 38 block kills. The senior also totaled 74 digs and 22 aces.

Reed stepped up in a big way for a team that was looking for impact players after losing several key athletes to graduation from the previous season.

Reed left her mark primarily at the net, finishing with 109 attack kills and 14 blocks. She also served 29 aces and had 85 digs.

The junior made it a goal to make an all-conference team coming into the season. Having accomplished the goal, she’s eyeing an even bigger season on the court with her team.

“This (all-conference honor) is going to motivate me next season to push myself more in outside hitting in the off season,” said Reed. “I also want to push my teammates as well so we do not finish in the bottom half of conference but the top half next year. I believe we have talent coming back and can do it.”

Clintonville

Over in the North Eastern Conference, Clintonville had a pair of volleyball players honored. Senior Lindsy Carpenter and sophomore Josie Colla each landed on the honorable mention team.

Carpenter served as the team’s setter, piling up 367 assists over the season. The senior also tallied 121 digs, 25 attack kills, 14 blocks and 28 aces.

“Being named to an all-conference team my senior year means a lot to me and shows how far I have come to be recognized in this way,” said Carpenter. “It also reflects on how much my team has pushed me and every way that they have helped me to earn this award. I never could have done it without them. All around, this is a very special and important experience to me.”

Colla turned into one of the more well-known attackers in the season, but even with opposing teams aware of that, the sophomore still enjoyed a big season.

Colla finished the season with 132 kills and 41 total blocks. She also had 53 digs.

With an all-conference award as motivation, Colla is ready to take her game to the next level.

“I have always had big plans for my volleyball career and trying to think of ways to better myself. Having this remarkable honor happen to me was that little sprinkle of dust that I really needed,” said Colla.

“I feel so great knowing that I am being remembered for good sportsmanship, talent and being this young is even better. It was my first year on varsity. I didn’t expect this to happen and now that it did, I can’t wait for what will happen next season and even in my future career.”

Shawano and Clintonville met in a Division 2 regional playoff contest, with the Truckers winning in four sets.

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