APPLETON — It took a fifth trip to the WIAA state tournament, but the Xavier Hawks girls’ volleyball team are now state champions.
Xavier came through with a 3-1 victory over Sauk Prairie Saurday in the WIAA Division 2 girls volleyball title game at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon.
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ASHWAUBENON — The Xavier Hawks girls’ volleyball team is seeking its first state title Saturday in a showdown between the top two teams in the Division 2 WIAA state volleyball tournament.
Xavier (38-7) faces Sauk Prairie (47-3) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday for the the title at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon.
Top-seeded Xavier is making its fifth State appearance and its first since 2009 when the Hawks finished runner-up.
They were also runners-up in 2006.
They swept Tomahawk 25-15, 25-15, 25-13 in the Waupaca Sectional final to earn their return to the tourney field.
They are the champions in the Bay Conference this season.
Second-seeded Sauk Prairie earns a berth in the State Tournament for the second time in the last three seasons and the third time overall.
Their previous two appearances at State resulted in a loss in the Division 2 semifinals in 2009 and the Division 1 semifinals in 2020, when only four teams qualified in the division because of COVID accommodations.
Their return to the tourney field comes virtue of a 25-13, 25-17, 25-23 win over Edgewood in the sectional final played at McFarland.
They finished runner-up in the West Division of the Badger Conference this season.
The single-elimination tournament features matches with a best-of-five-sets, rally-scoring format.
Of the 471 programs that offer girls volleyball, eight teams will play for the State title in Division 1, with four teams still in contention for the State crown in Divisions 2, 3 and 4.
Match-ups for the tournament are determined by seeding each of the teams in all divisions.
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