Four girls volleyball teams and one boys volleyball team were crowned champions of the 2020 Volleyball Tournaments held at five different venues Saturday.
Second-seeded Kettle Moraine defeated top-seeded Marquette 25-20, 25-13, 21-25, 25-14 in the boys championship match played at Burlington High School.
Jacob Malak paced the Kettle Moraine hitting attack with a match-high 18 kills, and Matthew Vodenlich also added double figures in kills with 12. Brandon Morton led all setters with 32 assists. Defensively, Nathan Dishaw led the team with 13 digs, and Vodenlich chipped in with 11.
Riley Simonz was the only Hilltoppers’ hitter with double figures in kills with 12, and Michael Czarnecki led the team with 21 assists. Blase Catanese finished with a game-high 17 digs.
The Lasers swept New Berlin Eisenhower/West 25-19, 25-23, 25-15 in the semifinals to advance to the final, and Marquette scored a 25-22, 25-18, 25-12 win over Arrowhead in its semifinal.
Kettle Moraine wins its first boys volleyball championship in its seventh appearance in the State Tournament, and Marquette finishes runner-up in its 19th appearance.
Top-seeded Hamilton (18-1) won the Division 1 girls volleyball championship with a 25-18, 17-25, 25-23, 25-20 win over Burlington (18-1) in the title match at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School.
The Chargers had three hitters with double digits in kills to pace an attack that recorded a .277 hitting percentage for the match. Lakyn Graves led the team with 16 kills, and Sylvie Zgonc and Katelyn Lefler each contributed with 10 kills. Janelle Stuempfig and Lefler shared the setting duties, distributing 24 and 23 assists, respectively. Five players had 10 or more digs on defense, including Megan Hawthorne’s team-high 18.
The Burlington offensive attack was led by Lydia Biggin with 17 kills and Camryn Lukenbill with 16 kills. Victoria Van Dan led all setters with 47 assists, and defensively, Molly Berezowitz recorded a game-high 21 digs, and Samantha Naber added 19 digs.
The Chargers reached the championship match by defeating Sauk Prairie 25-13, 25-11, 25-23 in the semifinals, and the Demons advanced with a 25-16, 28-26, 25-21 win over River Falls in its semifinal.
Hamilton wins the championship in the school’s second appearance in the State Tournament, and the Demons are runners-up in their 12th State experience.
Top-seeded Luxemburg-Casco (15-0) won the Division 2 girls volleyball championship for the second straight season with a 25-22, 25-21, 25-17 sweep of Lakeside Lutheran (12-5) in the championship tilt held at Kaukauna High School.
The Spartans were led offensively by Kenzie Hanson with 12 kills and a .375 hitting percent, and Emma Johnson contributed with a game-high 32 assists. Defensively, Hanson recorded a team-high 12 digs and Isabella Otrodovec had a pair of block solos and block assists.
Lakeside Lutheran was led by Payton Kuepers with a game-high 13 kills, and by Kylee Gnabasik with 17 assists and four service aces. Gnabasik was also the leader on defense with a game-high 18 digs.
The Spartans earned another trip to the finals with a 25-13, 25-22, 27-25 victory over St. Croix Falls in the semifinals. Lakeside Lutheran advanced with a 25-10, 25-11, 25-10 sweep of Platteville in its semifinal match.
Luxemburg-Casco wins its second championship in their third State appearance, and the Warriors are runners-up in their fourth State experience.
Top-seeded Howards Grove (21-1) claims back-to-back titles after defeating Waterloo (26-5) 23-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-11 in the championship final in Division 3 held at Wausau West H.S.
Josie Halbleib and Karissa Kaminski led the Tigers’ attack with 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Emma Baierl and Halbleib distributed 19 and 16 assists, respectively, to help fuel the Tigers offensively. Mack Holzwart led all players with a game-high 26 digs, and Jacquelyn Yancy and Halbleib each recorded a game-high six block assists.
The balanced Waterloo hitting attack was led by Joslyn Wolff and Brooke Mosher with eight kills apiece, and Mosher led the team with 16 assists. Michaela Riege and Rylie Duessler led the defense, statistically, with 15 and 11 digs, respectively.
The Tigers cruised to a 25-11, 25-13, 25-16 victory over Osseo-Fairchild in their semifinal match, and the Pirates eliminated Fall Creek from title contention with a 25-17, 25-17, 25-22 win to advance to the final.
Howards Grove win its fourth State title in five tournament appearances, and the Pirates finish runners-up in their fifth State experience.
Second-seeded Catholic Central (22-0) turned back top-seeded McDonell Catholic (21-2) 25-23, 25-21, 25-22 to claim the Division 4 championship at Little Chute High School after placing runner-up last season.
The Hilltoppers were led on the attack by Sammie Seib with 17 kills. She also led the defense with 17 digs. Ella Shaw led all setters with 27 assists, and she also contributed three aces. Kelly Plum served a game-high four aces to lead Catholic Memorial, which compiled 14 aces in the match.
Kait Ortmann led the Macks in hitting with eight kills and a .412 hitting percentage, and Sidney Rice chipped in with seven kills. Maggie Cracker was the team’s assist leader with 19, and she also led the team in digs with 13.
Catholic Central advanced to the championship match following a 25-19, 25-20, 25-17 win over Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran in the semifinals. McDonell Catholic defeated Prentice 25-15, 25-16, 25-17 for its berth in the title game.
In the Hilltoppers’ ninth State appearance, they win their seventh State championship, which ties for second-most in the membership. The Macks are the runners-up in their third appearance at State.
Girls Results & Boxscores
Boys Results & Boxscores