THE TOURNAMENT: The 50th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Volleyball Championships will take place Friday and Saturday, Nov. 15-16, 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.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION: The single-elimination tournament features matches with a best-of-five-games format. Of the 51 schools that offer a boys volleyball program, eight remain to play for the single-division State title. This season marks the second time the State Tournament field has been seeded by the coaches of participating teams. Below are the schedule and match-ups for the tournament.
Quarterfinals - Friday, Nov. 15
Marquette (27-2) vs. Westosha Central (27-10) - 5 p.m.
Brookfield East (17-8) vs. Kaukauna (30-9) - 5 p.m.
Germantown (31-3) vs. Middleton (19-5) - 7:45 p.m.
Catholic Memorial (38-4) vs. Racine Horlick (32-7) - 7:45 p.m.
Semifinals - Saturday, Nov. 16
Winners of Friday’s 5 p.m. matches - Noon
Winners of Friday’s 7:30 p.m. matches - Noon
Championship Match - Saturday, Nov. 16
Championship Match - 5:30 p.m.
ALL MATCHES ON FOXSPORTSWISCONSIN.COM: The quarterfinal, semifinal and championship matches of the WIAA State Boys Volleyball Tournament will be streamed live on the Internet on foxsportswisconsin.com
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH ON FS WISCONSIN: Watch the delayed broadcast of the WIAA State Boys Volleyball championship match on FS Wisconsin. The match is scheduled to be aired on Nov. 28 at 11 p.m. Check local cable listings for the channel in your area.
HISTORY OF THE TOURNAMENT: The tournament resumed in 2000 after an 18-year hiatus. The WIAA did not sponsor a championship 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 nine championships and finished runner-up three times from 1950 through 1961. Included in that run was five straight championships from 1957-61. Kaukauna also has had a history of success, winning eight State championships, including the first tournament held in the fall. Other multiple champions are Marquette with six titles, and 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: Appleton North captured its first State title by defeating Burlington in the championship match 25-23, 25-27, 25-18, 25-12. The Lightning was led by Ryan Albers with 20 kills and Connor Gross with 47 assists and 14 digs. Drew Eastman and Peter Dalgleish added 13 and 12 kills, respectively.
ABOUT THE FIELD: Marquette returns to the State Tournament field for the 12th straight year, which accounts for the Hilltoppers overall total. They have won six State titles, capturing the gold in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and again in 2011. In addition, they finished runner-up in 2010. The Hilltoppers qualify for the tournament field this season after cruising through the Greenfield Sectional without dropping a set, culminating with a 25-13, 25-19, 25-18 win over Whitefish Bay/Dominican in the final. Catholic Memorial qualifies for the 10th time. The Crusaders have won two titles, the first coming in 2000 and adding another in 2010. In addition, they have finished runner-up four times (2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007). They return to the State Tournament in pursuit of their third crown after defeating Waukesha West in the sectional final hosted at Catholic Memorial by scores of 25-20, 25-20, 25- 21. Germantown returns to the State Tournament for the third straight season, which accounts for its overall number of appearances. The Warhawks advanced to the semifinals in 2011 and lost in the quarterfinals last season. Their return to the tournament comes following a 25-18, 26-24, 25-21 triumph over Arrowhead in the sectional final played at Nicolet. Kaukauna is making its 19th tournament appearance, which is the most of any existing member school. The Galloping Ghosts have also won the most titles of any existing school with eight. In addition, they have placed runner-up in 1967, 1974, 1976 and 2011. They survived a five-set match with defending champion Appleton North 25-19, 25-21, 24-26, 17-25, 16-14 in the final of the Kaukauna Sectional to advance into the final field of eight. Westosha Central is back at State quarterfinals for the third time. The Falcons’ previous two appearances came back-to-back in 2010-11. The Falcons advanced to the semifinals in each of those two previous experiences before being eliminated from title contention. They defeated last year’s runner-up Burlington in a thrilling, come-from-behind, five-set match 25-18, 17-25, 20-25, 25-18, 24-22 in the sectional final held at Burlington to punch their return ticket to State. Racine Horlick qualifies for the State Tournament for the seventh time, the most recent coming in 2011. The Rebels won the State championship in 2003 and have advanced to the semifinals on two other occasions. They downed New Berlin Eisenhower/West in the New Berlin Eisenhower Sectional final 25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 25-17 to remain one of eight teams still in position to contend for the title. Middleton returns to the tournament field for the sixth time and for the first time since a string of three consecutive appearance concluded in 2009. The Cardinals’ furthest advance toward a title was to the semifinals in 2007 and 2008. This season, they advance to the quarterfinals by defeating Kettle Moraine 30-28, 21-25, 25-19, 25-19 in the sectional final hosted by Middleton. Brookfield East’s only other appearance in the State Tournament came in 2000, which resulted in a loss in the quarterfinals. Their return to the field comes virtue of a five-set win over Wauwatosa East in the sectional final held at Brookfield East 18-25, 25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 15-11.
WIAA OFFICIAL VOLLEYBALL: Molten is the official ball of the WIAA State Boys and Girls Volleyball Tournament Series. To learn more about Molten products, access the website at www.moltenusa.com.
FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Boys Volleyball Tournament on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaabvb. Also follow daily recaps on Facebook.
NEED THE QUALIFIERS?: Team information and rosters for qualifying teams in the State Tournament are available on the restricted area of the Media Center on the WIAA website.
NEED RESULTS?: Results of the State Boys Volleyball Tournament are available on the WIAA website at www.wiaawi.org by accessing the boys volleyball Tournament Information page.