Sports

Falls Volleyball Stars Carry Success into College

Fredrich, Gabrielsen making impact at Division 1 schools.

While the current Menomonee Falls girls volleyball team prepares for another run at the state tournament β€” the Indians head into the Greater Metro Conference tournament this week with a 32-10 overall mark and 6-0 in the league β€” two of its former stars are having success in college.

Catie Fredrich, a sophomore libero at Ball State University in Indiana, was just named the Mid-American Conference West Division Defensive Player of the Week. She made 43 digs in seven sets over two matches as the first-place Cardinals split with Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. Fredrich also was 33-for-33 on serve attempts and 32-for-33 on serve reception.

She also was featured in a video interview at Ball State earlier this month.

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At UW-Madison, senior setter/right-side hitter Janelle Gabrielsen has helped lift the Badgers into honorable mention in the national coaches poll. Wisconsin defeated Michigan (then No. 18) and Ohio State (No. 24) last week to gain notice.

Gabrielsen has played in all 63 sets over 18 matches for Wisconsin (11-7 overall, 3-3 Big Ten). She's second on the team in assists (336) and digs (156).

Find out what's happening in Menomonee Fallswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

With her 3,000th assist on Sept. 25, Gabrielsen became just the seventh Wisconsin player to reach that career milestone. She also recorded her second triple-double early in the season with 11 kills, 20 assists and 12 digs vs. Duke. Only four players in Wisconsin history have recorded a triple double.

The Big Ten is one of the top women's volleyball conferences in the nation this year, with seven teams in the current top 25, including No. 1 Illinois.


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