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WIAA Boys Volleyball State Tournament Preview

11/06/2017, 10:45am CST
By Travis Wilson

From the WIAA - 

THE TOURNAMENT:  The 54th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Volleyball Tournament will take place Friday and Saturday, Nov. 10-11, at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee, Wis. Ticket prices for the tournament are $8 for adults per session and $1 for children 6-years old and under. 

STATE TOURNAMENT INFORMATION:  The single-elimination tournament features matches with a best-of-five-games format. Of the 56 schools that offer a boys volleyball program, eight remain to play for the single-division State title. 

Quarterfinals - Friday, Nov. 10
Match-1:  #1 Marquette (41-4) vs. Racine Horlick (26-10) - 12:30 p.m.
Match-2:  #4 Brookfield East (26-11) vs. Muskego (18-12) - 3 p.m.
Match-3:  #3 Kaukauna (27-6) vs. Middleton (33-6) - 5:30 p.m. 
Match-4:  #2 Germantown (35-7) vs. Kettle Moraine (21-8) - 8 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, Nov. 11
Match-5:  Winner of Match-1 vs. Winner of Match-2 - 10 a.m.
Match-6:  Winner of Match-3 vs. Winner of Match-4 - 12:30 p.m.

Championship Match - Saturday, Nov. 11
Match-7:  Championship Match - 6 p.m.

TIME WARNER SPORTS CHANNEL TO AIR FINAL:  The championship match of the WIAA State Boys Volleyball Tournament will be aired live on Spectrum Sports Channel 32 in Milwaukee and Green Bay.

TOURNAMENT LIVE STREAM:  The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of the WIAA State Boys Volleyball Tournament will be streamed live on the WIAA.TV portal of the NFHS Network on a consumer subscription basis. To purchase a subscription to the live programming for only $9.95 per month, log-on to www.wiaa.tv or www.nfhsnetwork.com and click on the subscription image in the middle of the page. Archived streams of the games will be available on demand on the NFHS Network 72 hours after the tournament without requirement of a subscription. 

HISTORY OF THE TOURNAMENT:  The tournament resumed in 2000 after an 18-year hiatus. The WIAA did not sponsor a championship tournament in boys volleyball from 1983 until 1999 because of the low participation. The initial boys tournament began in 1947 with Madison West winning the first State title. Waukesha, before the school split into multiple schools, enjoyed an impressive string of success in the 1950s. It won its nine championships and finished runner-up three times from 1950 through 1961. Included in that run were five straight championships from 1957-61. Kaukauna has also had a history of success, winning nine State championships. Other multiple champions are Marquette with eight titles, and Catholic Memorial, Wisconsin High School of Madison and West Allis Hale with three titles. Antigo, Catholic Memorial, Madison Central and Whitefish Bay have won two titles. 

LAST YEAR:  Catholic Memorial overcame a two set deficit to win the championship for the third time with a 17-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-10 victory over Marquette. The Crusaders were led by a trio of attackers. Zach Engsberg led all hitters with 17 kills, and Ryan Brown and Joe Heyrman added 14 and 10 kills, respectively.

ABOUT THE FIELD:  Last season’s runner-up Marquette is back in the State Tournament for the 16th straight year, which accounts for the Hilltoppers overall total. They have been issued the top seed in the bracket. They have won eight State titles, capturing the gold in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013 and again in 2014. In addition, they finished runner-up in 2010 and again last year. The Hilltoppers return to the tournament field this season following a 25-11, 25-8, 25-23 sweep over Whitefish Bay in the South Milwaukee Sectional final. They are the champions of the Greater Metro Conference this season. Kaukauna is making its 22nd tournament appearance, which is the most of any member school. The Galloping Ghosts have won the most titles of any existing school with nine. Those came in 1967­–when the boys season was played in the spring–1969, 1970, 1972, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982 and 2015. In addition, they have placed runner-up in the fall seasons of 1967, 1974, 1976 and 2011. They ousted Appleton North 25-19, 23-25, 25-15, 25-23 in the final of the sectional hosted at Kaukauna to advance into the final field of eight as the third-seeded qualifier. The Galloping Ghosts are the champions of the Fox Valley Association this year. Middleton returns to the tournament field for the fifth straight season and for the 10th time overall. The Cardinals’ furthest advance toward a title was to the semifinals in 2007 and 2008. This season, they advance to the quarterfinals by defeating Burlington 25-22, 25-17, 25-19 in the sectional final held at Middleton. They are the champions of the Big Eight Conference this season. Racine Horlick qualifies for the State Tournament for the eighth time, the most recent coming in 2013. The Rebels won the State championship in 2003 and have advanced to the semifinals on two other occasions. They downed Kenosha Tremper 25-19, 17-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-10 to remain in contention for the State title. The Rebels are the co-champions of the Southeast Conference this fall with Kenosha Tremper. Kettle Moraine returns to State for the fifth  time and for the first time since 2015. The Lasers’ most notable outcome in the tournament was a runner-up finish in their most recent appearance. They defeated Catholic Memorial in the sectional final played at Kettle Moraine 25-16, 12-25, 27-25, 25-12 to earn their return to the State Tournament. The Lasers shared the Classic Eight Conference crown with Catholic Memorial this season. Germantown returns to the State Tournament for the fifth time and for the second time in the past three seasons. The Warhawks’ have played in one title game, finishing runner-up in 2013. They return to the tournament as a result of a 25-21, 25-12, 19-25, 25-20 victory over Arrowhead in the sectional final played at Germantown. They received the second seed in the tournament bracket. The Warhawks placed third in the Greater Metro Conference behind qualifiers Marquette and Brookfield East. Fourth-seeded Brookfield East makes its third appearance in the last five seasons and its fourth overall. The Spartans’ previous three trips to State resulted in a loss in the quarterfinals in 2000 and in the semifinals in 2013 and 2015. Their return to the tournament field comes virtue of a 25-23, 28-26, 25-20 win over New Berlin Eisenhower/West in the sectional final held at New Berlin Eisenhower. The Spartans were runners-up to Marquette in the Greater Metro Conference this season. Muskego is a three-time State Tournament qualifier. The Warriors lost in the quarterfinals in back-to-back appearances in 2011-12. They are back in the tournament field following their 22-25, 25-20, 20-25, 26-24, 15-12 triumph over Racine Case in the Racine Park Sectional final. The Warriors placed third in the Classic Eight Conference behind Catholic Memorial and qualifier Kettle Moraine.

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