Germantown moves on in boys volleyball
Germantown had all of its weapons on display.
The top-seeded Warhawks spread around the wealth for a dominant offensive performance in a 25-12, 25-9, 25-18 win over Franklin in a WIAA state boys volleyball quarterfinal at Wisconsin Lutheran College on Friday afternoon.
Carter Schmidt hit .812 with 13 kills to lead the charge as Germantown (43-3) posted a .452 hitting percentage as a team.
“For us to hit .452 against an opponent of this level at state, it gives us confidence going through the roof for tomorrow,” Germantown coach Brian Rushmer said. “We’re going to face a really good opponent tomorrow, no matter who it is.
“Looking at the numbers next to Carter, 13 for 16 for any state match, I don’t care what round it is, Carter’s numbers speak for themselves at this point.”
Germantown faces Catholic Memorial in a semifinal at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Bryce Behrendt, the Warhawks’ top hitter throughout the season, was limited to a .118 hitting percentage to go with his seven kills, but Luke Taylor and Jackson Van Engen combined for 14 kills while hitting .524.
Franklin (19-15), which was led by seven kills by Luigi Saraspe, rallied in the third set to keep the score close, but ultimately the Warhawks attack proved to be too much.
Catholic Memorial 3, Marquette 2: The bounces just started going the Crusaders’ way, Catholic Memorial co-head coach Dan Chipman asserted.
With its back against the wall, trailing 2-1 in the match and 19-17 in the fourth set, Catholic Memorial found its rhythm from earlier in the match and the Crusaders rallied for a 25-19, 17-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-8 win over the Hilltoppers.
“You can play the same way and do the same things over and over, but when you’re down and digging and the ball hits your arms, it can either go straight up, it can go over the net or it can shank,” Chipman said. “A lot of times, there isn’t much difference. It’s just a matter of how the ball was hit, how the light hits your eyes. Not much changed. I think we were playing great, but it was just a matter of how the ball was bouncing.”
It was a matchup of the last two state champions, with the Crusaders (18-7) winning the title in 2016 before the Hilltoppers (28-9) earned the gold ball last November. After taking the first set, Marquette came out firing to take its 2-1 lead.
The Hilltoppers were nearly unstoppable with their swings over those two sets, hitting .393.
Then, as Chipman said, things started shifting back toward the Crusaders.
Kimberly 3, Brookfield East 0: The second-seeded Papermakers (34-2) advanced in their first state appearance with a 25-17, 25-18, 25-16 victory.
Junior outside hitter Landon Krause finished with 17 kills, a .423 hitting percentage and four aces for Kimberly. The team hit .320, including a sizzling .464 in the opening set.
Senior outside hitter Anthony Hyndiuk led East with 11 kills.
Kenosha Indian Trail 3 Middleton 2: Down, 2-1, the Hawks (35-3) rallied to upset the No. 3 seed and get their first state tournament victory, 25-22, 23-25, 23-25, 26-24, 15-9. Indian Trail scored 10 of the first 13 points of the fifth set to take control.
Juniors Jackson Antos and Nathan Klimisch finished with 18 kills each for the Hawks.