DIVISION 1
Muskego and Divine Savior Holy Angels will meet in the Division 1 championship match Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at the Resch Center in Green Bay.
The Warriors (29-12) fought back after losing the first two sets to advance with a 21-25, 18-25, 25-21, 25-16, 15-12 come-from-behind victory over the Demons. Muskego is the first team to win a match at State after trailing 2-0 since 2009.
Brooke Gostomski was the leader on offense for Muskego with 24 kills and an efficient .463 hitting percentage. Morgan Kath doled out 38 assists. The Warriors were also formidable at the net on defense, scoring on 17 blocks, which set a Division 1 State Tournament record for blocks in a five-set match. In addition, Sandra Mohr set the individual five-set record for block assists with 12.
Ali Rueter and Quinn Spieker were the offensive leaders for the Demons with 17 and 15 kills, respectively. In the first two sets the Demons were hitting at a .280 clip, but were held to a -.057 hitting percentage in the final three games.
The Warriors return to the Division 1 final for the first time since 2010, and the Demons are denied the shot at the title in their sixth appearance.
Divine Savior Holy Angels (44-4) swept Germantown 26-24, 25-16, 25-20 to return to the title game for the second time in three seasons.
After falling behind by a sizable deficit early in the first set, the Dashers stormed back to take control of the match. Kelley Berk had 13 kills and Katie Wisniewski added 12 to combine for a .444 attack percentage to lead the DSHA offense. Maddie Yoss and Katie Machi shared the setting duties, recording 20 and 17 assists, respectively.
Carly Townsend had 15 kills and added 16 assists to lead the Warhawks’ offense, which was held to a .144 hitting percentage.
Germantown (37-14) reached the semifinals for the first time but fell short in its title bid in its fourth tournament appearance.
DIVISION 2
Catholic Memorial and Tomahawk were victorious in their Division 2 State semifinal challenges to advance to Saturday’s championship match at the Resch Center in Green Bay.
The Crusaders (39-11) advance to the final after a two-year hiatus, which came on the heels of a three-year string of titles from 2009-11. They defeated Platteville in three sets 25-19, 25-23, 25-19.
Lexi Alden was credited with a match-high 16 kills for the Crusaders. Lexie Calloway added another 11 to fuel the offensive for Catholic Memorial. Hayley Levenhagen recorded 26 assists and Maddy Rondeau dished out another 17 assists in addition to her three aces.
The Hillmen were led offensively by Morgan Stecklein with 13 kills and Jenna Phillips with 18 assists. Platteville (40-6) converted for a .192 hitting percentage in the match, compared to the Crusaders’ .206 attack percentage.
Catholic Memorial is in pursuit of its fifth State title while the Hillmen are ousted from title contention in their fifth State appearance.
Tomahawk (34-3) advances to the championship match for the first time in its five trips to the State Tournament following a 25-20, 25-20, 14-25, 25-20 win over Waupun.
Despite the defeat, Blake Buchholz set a Division 2 State Tournament record for kills in a four-set match with 28. Claiborn Bronkhorst added 11 kills, and Kyra Verheyen handed out 39 assists, but it wasn’t enough to overtake the Hatchets.
Hanna Meyer and Anna Nyberg provided a productive combination at the net for the Hatchets with 18 and 15 kills, respectively. They also had a team high 12 digs apiece. Becca Doughty posted 39 assists.
Waupun’s (37-12) quest for a membership-leading 12th State title was cut short in its 16th appearance.
DIVISION 3
Marathon and Waterloo will match up in the Division 3 championship tilt at 11:30 a.m. at the Resch Center.
Marathon (31-4) downed Cameron in four sets 25-20, 25-9, 20-25, 28-26 to advance to the championship match for the first time in program history.
In addition to their 42 kills, the Red Raiders scored on 16 blocks and forced 35 Comet hitting errors. Emily Kind led the Marathon attack with 18 kills, and Amanda Kind added 10 kills.
The Cameron (30-4) offensive attack was led by Hannah Bailey and Ashlee Bayer with 16 and 10 kills, respectively. Chloe Wanink handed out 40 assists and dug 19 Red Raider attacks. The Comets were held to a .049 hitting percentage in the match. They were playing in their third State Tournament.
Waterloo (36-4) swept Howard Grove 25-22, 25-23, 25-19 to advance to Saturday’s championship match.
The Pirates' Madeline Mosher and Hailey Chittenden accounted for 34 of the team’s 42 kills, with Mosher credited with a match-high 21. Claire Mosher assisted on 36 kills.
The Tigers played well in spurts but couldn’t sustain any momentum throughout the match. Their top offensive performers were Samantha Yancy with 12 kills, Alicia Schueler with 11 attacks and Autumn Risch with 34 assists.
It was Howards Grove’s second experience in the State Tournament. The first came back in 1976.
DIVISION 4
Defending Division 4 champion Newman Catholic earned the opportunity to defend its title Saturday against Southwestern in the championship final at the Resch Center in Green Bay.
The Fighting Cardinals (38-3) needed to rally from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Clayton, the program they beat in the championship final last season, 25-15, 20-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-8.
Mariah Whalen recorded 34 kills and set the Division 4 State Tournament record for a five-set match with eight service aces to lead the Fighting Cardinals. Her kills total ranks second-most in a five-set, Division 4 match. Abbey Fox dished out 35 assists and Caitlin Deaton contributed 16 kills.
The Bears (27-6) were led by Abbey Ketz and Summer Larson with 17 and 13 kills, respectively. Sam Fall was credited with 43 assists and 24 digs, which ranks fourth-most in a five-set match in Division 4.
The Bears were limited to a .109 hitting percentage in the match. Newman Catholic hit .171 for the match and had 14 service aces. It was Clayton’s (27-6) fifth State Tournament appearance.
Southwestern earned its berth in the State final by outlasting Hilbert 25-20, 22-25, 25-12, 20-25, 16-14 in the semifinals.
Michelle Budden had 32 kills and four aces to pace the Wildcats (29-3), who posted a .158 hitting percentage in the match. Madison Kuhl had 43 assists and Melissa Tranell made 33 digs for the Wildcats.
Erica Gehl was the Wolves’ top offensive performer with 24 kills. April Gehl chipped in with 15 kills, 21 assists, four aces and three blocks.
Both teams played well defensively. The Wildcats set a Division 4 record for five sets with 132 digs, and held the Wolves to a .077 hitting percentage. Hilbert (37-3) set a Division 4 record for blocks in a five-set match with 14, and limited the Wildcats to a .158 hitting percentage.
It was the Wolves' fourth appearance in the State Tournament.
Burlington, Muskego, Divine Savior Holy Angels and Germantown each advanced to the semifinals in Division 1 with wins in the quarterfinals of the WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament Thursday at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis.
Burlington swept Manitowoc Lincoln in their quarterfinal match-up 25-13, 25-20, 25-15. The Demons (43-3) were efficient on the attack with a .362 hitting percentage for the match. Quinn Spieker led the Demons with 18 kills, and Ali Rueter dished out 23 assists.
The Ships (39-5) were held to a .127 hitting percentage for the match. Meg Wolowicz led the team in kills with six. Mallory Dixon contributed 16 assists.
Muskego clawed back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat DeForest in the five-set match 25-16, 16-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-9.
Both teams struggled on the attack with 50 combined hitting errors in the match. The Warriors (28-12) were aided by five service aces and a solid defense that posted 88 digs and eight blocks. Brooke Gostomski recorded 16 kills to lead the Warriors, with Sandra Mohr chipping in with 12 kills. Morgan Kath assisted on 35 kills.
The Norskies (41-4) stormed back after dropping the first set to win the second and third set, but a .013 hitting percentage in the fourth and fifth sets combined prevented the Norskies from closing out the Warriors, Gwen Orr recorded 12 kills to lead the Norskies.
Germantowm notched at 25-15, 25-22 , 25-14 triumph over Merrill, as Carly Townsend and Chloe Bingenheimer each had 11 kills for the Warhawks. Townsend and Chirstina Nenning each had 16 assists.
Merrill (31-8) was held to a .023 hitting percentage in the game, while the Warhawks hit at a .347 clip.
The Bluejays were led by Anna Finnell with eight kills,, and Emily Page recorded 24 assists.
Divine Savior Holy Angels (43-4) fell in the first set and regrouped to take the next three sets to move on to the semifinals following a 15-25, 25-16, 25-10, 25-19 victory over Kimberly.
Kelly Berk had 12 kills and eight block assists for the Dashers, and Annie Ertz added 10 kills. The Papermakers (34-11) were paced by Hannah Uhlenbrauck and Taylor Huss, who had 11 and 10 kills, respectively. The difference in the match was the Dashers defense at the net with 14 team blocks.
The action resumes Friday with the semifinals in all four divisions, beginning with Division 4 at 10 a.m.