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Germantown Boys’ Volleyball aims for first State Title

11/01/2014, 1:30pm CDT
By Jostun Pomplun, Special contribution to WSN

Special contribution to WSN by UW-Stevens Point communications student Jostun Pomplun

The Germantown boys’ volleyball team is no stranger to success in the postseason. The Warhawks have qualified for the state tournament the past three seasons and look to make their fourth straight trip this season.

The Warhawks clinched their fourth straight North Shore Conference championship with a 5-1 conference record. The team finished in the gold bracket of all five tournaments they played in and have been ranked in the top 10 all season in the WBVCA Boys Volleyball Coaches Poll. They ended the regular season ranked fifth.

There are not many differences between this year’s team and previous successful Warhawk teams.

“This team compared to our other teams from the past is a little bit smaller overall, but not by much,” Coach Brian Rushmer said.

Despite the minor difference, the team remains successful and can attribute it to their strengths of aggressive serving and serve receive and their style of play.

“We feel we can still run as quick and aggressive of an offense as we always have while potentially passing better in serve receive than in the past,” Rushmer said.

There is no one standout player on the team, as the Warhawks spread the ball around and can use their starting seven plus their eighth man for success. The team relies on five seniors, Luke Deubler, Cullen Liberski, Blake Janz, Ben Walter and Tom Schnoor for leadership on the court.

“We spread the ball around and all players are very important,” Rushmer said.

With strong team chemistry and previous experience, the team has the pieces to make a run at another state tournament appearance one match at a time.

“This team has a lot of experience on it still.  We just need to stick together with a next point mentality at all times in order to get back to the state tournament,” Rushmer said.

Even though the Warhawks have been to the state tournament three years in a row, they have yet to bring home the championship. Last year, they came up just short, losing in the championship game. They hope to change that this year by bringing home their first title.

“It would mean the world to not only our guys this year, but to any of the guys that have played for us in the last eight years if we won a championship,” Rushmer said.

The Warhawks begin postseason play on Tuesday, November 4, when they host Arrowhead in a sectional semifinal. This is the third consecutive season that the Warhawks have been the one seed in their sectional.

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