Fogerty, Spears, Szews named to all-NLC volleyball team

After a hard-fought Northern Lakes Conference schedule, Three Lakes volleyball players junior Kailyn Fogerty, senior Ella Spears, and freshman Malia Szews were named to the all-NLC second-team at the end of the season.
The trio’s performances helped get the Lady Jays an 8-4 record in the conference, which was good for third in the conference behind champion Laona-Wabeno and second-place Florence.
This is Fogerty’s second consecutive stint on the all-conference second team after achieving it as a sophomore. She was also an honorable mention selection as a freshman. She led Three Lakes as the team’s primary setter and six-rotation player. Fogerty recorded over 350 assists, 111 digs, and 62 kills in the 12-game conference schedule. Her assist total ranked in the top five in the NLC this year.
She also succeeded behind the service line, completing 339 servings of her 364 attempts.
Spears found herself as a first-time all-conference recipient as a senior. She moved from an outside hitter to libero this season to fill the vacant position.

“Although Spears was a strong hitter, her leadership and high energy were put to use in the defensive role,” said Three Lakes head coach Betsy Gruszynski. “Spears played as much as allowed for a libero in all matches this season.”
The senior finished the season with 186 digs and 209 receives from the back row. She also completed 91% of her services.
Lastly, Szews came on strong to the volleyball program as a freshman varsity player.
She was one of three freshmen in the conference to receive all-NLC honors. As a six-rotation player just like Fogerty, Szews played in every varsity set and recorded over 100 assists before Gruszynski transitioned her over to a hitter. She added 83 kills, 135 digs, and went 335-for-339 at the service line.
Gruszynski said she was proud of her three all-conference players, and the entire team throughout the season.
“We are so happy with the growth that our team has shown this year and we are looking forward to the future of the program,” she stated. “The team will certainly miss the defensive leadership of seniors Ella Spears and Riley Lob, but it is fortunate that we have a large group of underclassmen who are demonstrating strong skills and good work ethic.”
The Jays look to return nine letter winners for the 2025 fall season if everything falls into place.