Florence’s opponent Thursday in the WIAA Division 5 girls volleyball tournament state semifinal is Wausau Newman Catholic, the No. 1 seed in the bracket.

Newman Catholic (27-16) will face Florence (31-14) at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Resch Center in Green Bay. St. Ambrose (23-12) faces Rib Lake (31-8) in the other semifinal.

The championship match is at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Newman Catholic is back in the tourney for the third straight season and for the 15th time overall. They had a run of nine straight appearances from 2011-19. During that span, they won four straight titles in Division 4 from 2013-16.

They also advanced to the Division 4 championship games in 2009, 2012 and 2023, resulting in runner-up finishes. They remain in pursuit of their fifth championship following a 20-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-22 win over Highland in the sectional played at Riverdale.

The Fighting Cardinals finished in second place in the South Division of the Marawood Conference this fall.

St. Ambrose is the No. 2 seed in not only the program’s first trip to state, but also its first season of competition. The Guardians play their regular-season games independent of a conference affiliation.

They advanced to the state semifinals following a 25-16, 26-24,17-25, 25-17 victory over Pecatonica in the Barneveld Sectional final.

Third-seeded Rib Lake returns to state for the first time since the programs only prior appearance in 2006, which resulted in a runner-up finish in Division 4. The Redmen captured the Frederic Sectional title with a 25-22, 14-25, 25-15, 25-20 triumph over Prairie Farm in the final. They placed second in the South Division of the Marawood Conference this season.

Fourth-seeded Florence will embark on the program’s first state tournament following a 25-18, 20-25, 25-19, 25-16 win over Suring, which served as the sectional semifinal host. Florence defeated Waupun Central Wisconsin Christian 25-23, 30-28, 21-25, 25-17 to earn its sectional championship.

The LadyCats finished the regular season with a second-place standing in the Northern Lakes Conference.

Ticket prices for the tourney are $11 per session at the gate or $13 if purchased online for individuals 3-years old and older.

To order tickets online, go to: wiaawi.org/Tickets#4269711-volleyball.

The single-elimination girls tournament features five divisions for the first time. Of the 477 programs eligible, 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, 4 and 5. Match results are the best-of-five-sets.