Monday, October 29, 2012

State Girls Volleyball Tournament Preview

THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 40th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls Volleyball State Tournament will take place Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 1-3, at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis. Ticket prices for the tourney are $8 per session.

CHAMPIONSHIPS INFORMATION: The single-elimination tournament features matches with a best-of-five-games, rally-scoring format. Eight teams will play for the State title in Division 1, with four teams still in contention for the State crown in Divisions 2, 3 and 4. Below is the schedule and match-ups for the tournament.

DIVISION 1

Thursday, Nov. 1
Time            Match-up
4:30 p.m.     Neenah (43-5) vs. Divine Savior Holy Angels (41-4)
                    Merrill (41-3) vs. Muskego (31-11)
7:30 p.m.     Sun Prairie (36-10) vs. Menomonee Falls (39-8)
                    De Pere (28-13) vs. Burlington (41-2)
Friday, Nov. 2
7 p.m.          Semifinal (Thursday's 4:30 p.m. winners)
                    Semifinal (Thursday's 7:30 p.m. winners)
Saturday, Nov. 3
5:30 p.m.     Championship Match

DIVISION 2

Friday, Nov. 2
4 p.m.          Berlin (33-2) vs. Edgewood (25-8)
                    Tomahawk (35-10) vs. Kettle Moraine Lutheran (33-10)
Saturday, Nov. 3
3 p.m.          Championship Match

DIVISION 3

Friday, Nov. 2
1 p.m.          Oconto (36-1) vs. Cuba City (30-9)
                    Grantsburg (25-3) vs. Oostburg (41-4)
Saturday, Nov. 3
12:30 p.m.   Championship Match

DIVISION 4

Friday, Nov. 2
10 a.m.       Newman Catholic (28-10) vs. Hillsboro (36-11)
                   Luck (29-6) vs. Catholic Central (36-9)
Saturday, Nov. 3
10 a.m.       Championship Match

STATE MATCHES ON FOXSPORTSWISCONSIN.COM: The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of all four divisions of the WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament will be streamed live on the Internet on foxsportswisconsin.com.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES ON FS WISCONSIN: Watch the delayed broadcast of the WIAA State Girls Volleyball Championships on FS Wisconsin. The Division 1 title match will be aired on Nov. 13 at 9:30 p.m. The Division 2 championship match will be aired on Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. The Division 3 title match is scheduled to be aired on Nov. 19 at 9 p.m. In addition, the Division 4 championship match is scheduled for Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. Check local cable listings for the channel in your area.

LAST YEAR: Burlington won the Division 1 title with a 25-21, 25-20, 25-8 sweep of Fond du Lac in the championship final. Catholic Memorial defeated Tomahawk 25-18, 25-13, 25-19 in the Division 2 championship match to win its third consecutive title. Oostburg won the Division 3 championship by outlasting Spencer 21-25, 25-16, 26-24, 22-25, 17-15 in the title match, and Catholic Central won the Division 4 title by defeating Owen-Withee 25-19, 25-21, 25-23 in the championship match.

ABOUT THE DIVISION 1 FIELD: Defending champion Burlington qualifies for the fourth year in a row and for the fifth time overall. The Demons furthest advance in the tournament prior to last year’s championship was to the semifinals in 2009. They earn the chance to defend their title by upending Westosha Central in the Elkhorn Sectional final. Muskego is making its fifth straight appearance at State and its eighth in the last nine years. This is the Warriors’ 12th appearance overall, which includes State championships in 2005 and 2009, and runner-up finishes in 2006 and 2010. They defeated Greenfield in the Greenfield Sectional final to earn a berth in the State quarterfinals. Neenah returns to the State Tournament field for the first time since 2005 and for the 11th time overall. The Rockets have won one title, that came in 1978. They have finished runner-up on four occasions (1977, 1979, 1980 and 1992). They gain access to the tournament field by defeating West Bend East in the final of the Sheboygan South Sectional. Menomonee Falls is making its second State appearance in the last three years and its ninth overall. The Indians furthest advance in the State Tournament was a runner-up finish in 2000. They qualify for the final eight this season by defeating Watertown in the final of the Waukesha West Sectional. This will be the sixth appearance for Divine Savior Holy Angels. The Dashers qualified last season and were ousted from title contention in the semifinals. They won the Division 1 State title in 2001. This season, they defeated Pius XI in the Brookfield Central Sectional final to earn a return to the State quarterfinals. De Pere will be making its second consecutive appearance and its fifth overall. The Redbirds’ best State finish came with a runner-up performance in Class B in 1989. They defeated Kimberly in the Appleton North Sectional final to reach the State quarterfinals. Merrill is making its sixth appearance in the State Tournament, but its first since 1982 when the format was still pool play. The Bluejays return engagement to the tournament comes by virtue of a victory over Marshfield in the sectional final held at Wausau East. Sun Prairie makes its first-ever appearance at State. The Cardinals defeated Waunakee in the sectional final played at Sun Prairie to earn their initial berth.

ABOUT THE DIVISION 2 FIELD: Last year’s runner-up Tomahawk is making its fourth appearance in the State Tournament. The Hatchets fell in the semifinals in their first two trips to State. Their fourth consecutive berth comes following a three-set sweep over Barron in the Altoona Sectional final. Kettle Moraine Lutheran is making its seventh appearance and its first since 2007 when the Chargers won the Division 2 title and their fourth State title overall during a six-year span. They won three straight Division 3 championships from 2002-04 and finished runners-up in 2001 and 2005. They return to the tournament after defeating three-time defending champion Catholic Memorial in the sectional final played at Catholic Memorial. Edgewood makes its sixth appearance overall and the second in the last three seasons. The Crusaders had a string of four straight State trips from 2000-2003, which resulted in runner-up finishes in 2000, 2001 and 2002. They added a second-place trophy in 2010. Edgewood defeated River Valley in the sectional final hosted by McFarland to return to the tournament field. Berlin makes its initial appearance in the State Tournament. The opportunity to continue the Indians’ quest for a State title was extended with a victory over Luxemburg-Casco in the West De Pere Sectional final match.

ABOUT THE DIVISION 3 FIELD: Defending champion Oostburg is back with sights on defending the title won in 2011. The Dutchmen return to State for the eighth time overall. They also won the State championship in 1994 and were runners-up in 1988 and 2006. They are the champions of the Germantown Sectional by defeating Racine St. Catherine’s in the final. Grantsburg is back in the tournament for the 13th time overall and for the fifth season in a row. The Pirates have won State titles in 2001 and 2009 and have runner-up finishes in 1989, 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2010. They are the champions of the Osseo-Fairchild Sectional after defeating Regis in the final. Cuba City makes its 11th appearance and its first since finishing runner-up in 2009. The Cubans have won three State titles. Those came in 1990, 1992 and 2007. They have also finished runner-up three times, in 1988, 1991 and 2009. They defeated Deerfield in the Wisconsin Heights Sectional final to return to the State semifinals. Oconto advances to the State Tournament for the second time. The only other appearance came in 1999 when the Blue Devils lost in the Division 3 semifinals. They are the representatives out of the Marathon Sectional by virtue of their win over 2011 runner-up Spencer in the final.

ABOUT THE DIVISION 4 FIELD: Last year’s champion Catholic Central returns for shot at repeating. The Hilltoppers have qualified six times in the last seven seasons, only failing to qualify in 2009 during that span. In addition to last year’s exploits, they won three straight Division 4 State championships from 2006-2008 and finished runner-up in 2010. They continue their pursuit to defend the crown after defeating Sheboygan Lutheran in the Lake Country Lutheran Sectional final. Hillsboro makes its second straight appearance and its seventh overall. The Tigers had a streak of five straight appearances from 2003-07. That streak produced a pair of runner-up finishes, in 2005 and in 2007. They defeated Potosi in the North Crawford Sectional final to qualify this year. Newman Catholic is making its fifth overall appearance and its fourth in the last five seasons. The Fighting Cardinals’ most notable experience resulted in a runner-up finish in 2009. They are the representatives out of the Marion Sectional, defeating Florence in three sets in the final. Luck will make its first-ever State Tournament appearance following a three-set sweep over Clayton in the Clear Lake Sectional final.

NEED RESULTS?: Results of the State Girls Volleyball Tournament are available on the WIAA website at www.wiaawi.org by accessing the girls volleyball Tournament Information page.

News

State Girls Volleyball Tournament Preview

Theme picker