State volleyball, etc.

Here's some extra reaction from Regis' 3-1 loss to Cuba City in the WIAA Division 3 state semifinals Friday at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon:

Regis coach Erika Johnson:
“It just seemed like we were a step behind where we needed to be the whole game.”
“These seniors, this team and this state trip have been three years in the making. Some of these seniors have been with me since they were sophomores.”
“It just wasn’t our day today. We lost to a good team. There’s no shame in that. They blocked us really well.”

Regis senior outside hitter Tessa Warner:
“We have to think of all the things we accomplished this season, like beating Stanley-Boyd, beating McDonell, beating our rivals. We just know we played our last game in the best place it could be played.”
“They had some really good blocks. They were up for everything and we just couldn’t hit through it.”

Regis senior libero Megan Smoczyk:
“We really fought to get here. We had to play a lot of tough teams. I know any of those teams would give anything to be here right now. It’s really hard because we not only let ourselves down, we let down a lot of other people.”
“This is exactly what I wanted – to have my last game at state. I’m just disappointed in the way it ended, walking out knowing I could have done a lot better than what I did.”
“We knew they were good blockers coming in. They just really showed it. It was hard for us even to go outside and hit because they blocked nearly everything. All the blocks would go straight down. It was so hard to get them up. We just weren’t ready for it.”
“It’s really disappointing, coming in beating the defending state champs to get here and beating a lot of other really hard teams. Playing our game, getting here and not playing the best we can is really disappointing.”

I do think the Ramblers were capable of beating Cuba City. It just wasn't their day. But they had a very nice season and certainly came a long way from when I saw them get beat by North 3-0 way back at the beginning of the season.
Oh, and for the three of you who were wondering, I did in fact make it to Kroll's West for my meal of cheeseburgers. I took down two plus a chocolate malt. L-T photographer Andi Stempniak decided not to take part in the meal, which can be attributed to either the vast amounts of grease and butter or my table manners.

- Joe Ziemer