WIAA STATE BOYS VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW
What: The 55th annual WIAA boys volleyball state tournament. When: Friday-Saturday. Where: Wisconsin Lutheran College.
Broadcast: All matches will be streamed live on WIAA.TV, a subscription service. Archived streams of the matches will be available on demand on the NFHS Network 72 hours after the tournament’s conclusion at no cost.
2017 champion: Marquette defeated Kaukauna, 25-19, 25-16, 25-20, in the final.
Results: Go to wiaawi.org.
Schedule
Friday
Quarterfinals (1) Germantown (42-3) vs. Franklin (1914), 12:30 p.m.
(4) Marquette (28-8) vs. Catholic Memorial (17-7), 3
(2) Kimberly (33-2) vs. Brookfield East (18-12), 5:30
(3) Middleton (35-5) vs. Kenosha Indian Trail (34-3), 8 Saturday
Semifinals Germantown/Franklin winner vs. Marquette/Catholic Memorial winner, 10 a.m. Kimberly/Brookfield East winner vs. Middleton/Kenosha Indian Trail, 12:30 p.m.
Championship
Semifinal winners, 6
The field
Brookfield East: The Spartans are at state for the third time in four years. In 2015 and '17, the Spartans reached the semifinals. They finished third in the Greater Metro behind Germantown and Marquette. Senior outside hitter Anthony Hyndiuk leads the team with 4 kills per set followed by junior Alexander Freedy and senior Cullen Dormach, who average 3.0 and 2.7 kills per set, respectively. Junior Ryan Reilly has been averaging almost 10 assists per set.
Catholic Memorial: The Crusaders finished second to Muskego in the Classic 8 race but won the conference tournament and arrive at state with a ninematch winning streak. Senior Evan Solomon (3.5 kills per set) and senior setter Ryan Peschl (8.8 assists per set) are the team's leading hitting and set-up men.
Franklin: It has been an up-and-down season for the Sabers, who are back at state for the first time since 2010. They took second to Kenosha Indian Trail during the Southeast Conference regular season and at the conference tournament. Senior Luigi Saraspe is averaging a team-high 3.9 kills per set.
Germantown: This is the sixth trip to state in the past eight years for the Warhawks, whose best finish was a runner-up in 2013. Led by returning all-state outside hitter Bryce Behrendt, Germantown scored late-season wins over Marquette and Middleton to earn the No. 1 seed. The team has won 16 straight matches.
Kenosha Indian Trail: The Southeast Conference champion has lost only to Catholic Memorial, Kaukauna and Middleton. This is Indian Trail's third trip to state in four years. Junior Nathan Klimisch is hitting .309 while averaging about 4 kills per set. Senior setter Nick Stachura has 858 assists or about an average of 8.5 per set.
Kimberly: The is the first state appearance for the Papermakers, who finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the state. Their only losses came to Germantown and Marquette. Senior Chase Robinson enters state with 1,049 assists after getting 46 in a five-set victory over Kaukauna in the sectional final.
Marquette: The defending champion returns with essentially a different team. The Hilltoppers finished second in the Greater Metro and went 2-2 against top-seeded Germantown. Seniors Sam Larcheid, Joe DeStefanis and Nolan Baldwicz are averaging more than two kills per set.
Middleton: This is the Cardinals' sixth straight appearance. In the previous five trips, they didn’t advance out of the quarterfinals. This year could be different. Middleton is 7-3 against teams that reached state, including 1-0 against quarterfinal opponent Indian Trail. Senior Eagan Peters-Michaud, who is averaging 3.5 kills per set, recently became the school’s all-time leader in that category.