Florence opens VB season with Crivitz tournament win
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After advancing to the WIAA Division 5 state tournament in November, the Florence LadyCats made a statement for the 2026 season by winning the Crivitz Invitational for the first time in program history Tuesday.
Florence returns four starters from a year ago, but lost some talented seniors in Ashlyn VanDenHeuvel, Sami DeMuri and Ashley Peterson.
In pool play at Crivitz, Florence defeated Green Bay Southwest 25-12, 25-16, and Gibraltar, 25-13, 25-15.
Moving on as a top seed, the LadyCats then played the other No. 1 pool seeds in Crivitz and Peshtigo. Florence defeated Crivitz 25-14, 31-29, and Peshtigo 25-12, 18-25, 15-5, capturing the nine-team tournament with a set record of 8-1.
Leading the way for Florence were juniors Kelsi Chrisman and Miley VanDenHeuvel. "They really are a 1-2 punch,” said LadyCats coach Teresa Chrisman.
Kelsi Chrisman led with 44 kills, nine aces and 100% serving, while also notching 31 assists and 16 digs.
Sophomore Julia Murrow amassed 44 assists on the day. "For her first varsity outing, I was very happy with her play,” coach Chrisman said.
VanDenHeuvel stepped up her net game with 25 kills, 12 blocks and 24 digs. "For a true middle hitter, her back row play and passes were spot on,” Chrisman said.
Rounding out the team and also having great first-game displays were senior Naomi Millan and junior Emily Wolske. Both contributed timely kills and strong serves. Millan totaled eight kills, 12 digs and six aces and Wolske three aces, nine kills and 12 digs.
Junior Addison Franz had two key blocks and three kills. Sophomore Leah Baker added three blocks and a kill.
Junior Taylor Pauley has stepped into the libero role and recorded 15 digs and five aces. Senior Quinn Cassidy contributed effective back-row passing and junior Sienna Schmoll added depth in the back row.
"We continue to learn what we need to work on, but I was very happy with what we showed,” Chrisman said. “You can tell by the scores that we came out hot and then tended to fizzle out in the second set. But I do foresee that’s something we can correct and continue to work on.”
Florence heads to a tournament in Wisconsin Dells on Friday and Saturday featuring 25 teams.