Marquette showed the heart of a champion with a five-set victory over New Berlin Eisenhower/West to win its second straight boys volleyball State title at the Rex Center on the campus of Wisconsin Lutheran College Saturday.
The Hilltoppers climbed out of a 0-2 hole to start the match and go on to win the match 12-25, 16-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-13. They needed to rally late in the fourth set to send the match to the decisive fifth set. Marquette led throughout much of the fifth set, but fell behind at 12-13 before scoring the matches’ final three points. It marks time a team has won a title match when trailing 0-2 since the reinstatement of the boys State Tournament in 2000.
The Hilltoppers had a balanced hitting attack with three players recording double digits in kills. Eaven Mason led the team with 14 kills and Drew Reilly and Mark Heinen each added 13 apiece. Donald Foley dished out 53 assists, and Jonathan Duffy was a stalwart on defense with 16 digs.
John Collins led the hitting attack for the United, which was held to a .087 hitting percentage in the match. Collins recorded 14 kills and Quinn Farrell chipped in with 10 kills. Adam Campbell was credited with 33 assists.
It was the Hilltoppers’ eighth championship overall, which ranks second-most among all schools. New Berlin Eisenhower/West finishes runner-up in its third State appearance.
SEMIFINAL RECAPS
New Berlin Eisenhower (29-6) returns to the State championship match for the first time since winning the State title in 2009 following a 25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 25-21 win over Appleton North in the semifinals Saturday.
Matt Zeske and Quinn Farrell were productive at the net for the United, collecting 28 and 20 kills, respectively. They led an attack that compiled a .317 hitting percentage for the match. Adam Campbell assisted on 53 of the team’s 65 kills.
The Lightning (26-7) struggled with the United defense, hitting at a .163 clip. New Berlin Eisenhower/West compiled 60 digs in the match to go with eight blocks. Brian Jones and Liam Mahoney provided much of the offense for the Lightning with 12 and 11 kills, respectively.
Appleton North’s State Tournament run ends in its seventh State appearance, and the United will play Marquette in its quest to win the program’s second title.
Defending champion Marquette cruised past Burlington with a three-game sweep in the semifinals 25-15, 25-14, 25-9 to advance to the title game in pursuit of the Hilltoppers’ eighth championship.
Marquette (27-4) displayed an efficient hitting attack with 38 kills and a .373 attack percentage for the match. Mark Heinen led the way with 10 kills with Donald Foley being credited with 24 assists.
Burlington struggled attacking with any efficiency in its attempt to dethrone the champions, posting a .000 hitting percentage in 75 attempts. Josh Ketterhagen led the Demons with nine kills. Jacob Dretttwan assisted on 14 of the Demons 19 kills.
Burlington falls short in its bid to play for the State title in its fifth State appearance, and Marquette will play in its ninth championship match in its 13 State experiences.
QUARTERFINAL RECAP:
Four teams advanced from the quarterfinals of the 2014 State Boys Volleyball Tournament at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee Friday.
Defending champion Marquette (26-4) shook off a loss in the opening set to defeat Wauwatosa East 22-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-22.
Stephen Roenitz led three Hilltoppers in double figures in kills with 19. Drew Reilly added 17 and Austin Cox had 12 to lead the Marquette attack that recorded a .257 hitting percentage for the match. Donald Foley assisted of 57 of the team’s 63 kills and had two aces.
The Red Raiders (15-16) were held to a .174 hitting percentage and were led by Aaron Plaisted’s 10 kills. Brad Larson doled out 36 assists.
Wauwatosa East drops out of the title chase in its ninth State Tournament appearance, and Marquette advances to the semifinals against Burlington Saturday at 10 a.m.
Burlington (17-11) overcame a 0-2 deficit to defeat Middleton in the quarterfinals 23-25, 24-26, 25-17, 25-23, 15-8.
With the scored tied at 3-3 in the decisive fifth set, the Demons surged to a 12-3 lead and went on to close out the match. Josh Ketterhagen recorded 28 kills, and Tanner Swantz added 21 to lead the Demons. Jacob Drettwan contributed with 64 assists. Zach DeRosier led the defense with 21 digs.
The Cardinals (24-8) were led by James Caldwell with 19 kills, and Derek Kalvin with 40 assists and 15 digs. Middleton was formidable defensively at the net with 14.5 blocks, but struggled offensively with a .085 hitting percentage.
Burlington advances to play Marquette in the semifinals at 10 a.m. Saturday. Middleton is ousted from its seventh State appearance.
New Berlin Eisenhower/West moves on to the semifinals with a 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 25-13 victory over Catholic Memorial.
The United (28-6) used a solid defensive effort at the net to record 15.5 team blocks and hold the Crusaders to a .079 hitting percentage. Offensively, Matt Zeske and Quinn Farrell led the United with 16 and 10 kills, respectively. Both Farrell and AJ Bruno were credited with six blocks, and Adam Campbell dished out 32 assists.
Danny Brozynski led the Crusaders (17-10) with 17 kills, and Nick Potrzebowski and Peter Aspenson shared the setting duties and recorded 19 and 13 assists, respectively. Catholic Memorial was hampered by miscues on its serves with 16 serve errors.
The United advance to play in the semifinal Saturday at 12:30 p.m. against Appleton North. Catholic Memorial falls in the quarterfinals of its 11th State Tournament appearance.
Appleton North (26-6) outlasted Arrowhead to win its quarterfinal 23-25, 26-24, 25-17, 22-25, 15-10.
In the decisive fifth set with the score 3-3, the Lighting scored three straight points, and the Warhawks could never fully recover the rest of the way. Liam Mahoney was a force at the net and defensively for the Lightning, recording 30 kills for a .288 hitting percentage and a team-high18 digs. Kody Fiorito chipped in with 52 assists.
Arrowhead had three players with double figures in kills. Michael Pepitone led the way with 19, and Mitchell Pralle and Evan Hevrdejs added 13 and 10, respectively. Joey Dittman was credited with 42 assists.
The Lightning advance to the semifinals at 12:30 p.m. Saturday to play New Berlin Eisenhower/West, and the Warhawks are ousted from title contention in their fifth State appearance.