THE TOURNAMENTS: The alternate season Girls Volleyball State Tournaments will be held Thursday and Saturday, April 15 and 17. The Division 1 girls State semifinals will be held Thursday at Kettle Moraine High School and the Division 2 girls semifinals will be held Thursday at Beaver Dam High School. The finals of both girls divisions and the alternate season Boys Volleyball State Tournament final will be played at Kaukauna High School Saturday. The price of admission for the limited number of tickets afforded to schools for the tournament is $11.
BOYS TOURNAMENT INFORMATION: The single-match tournament features a best-of-five-games, rally-scoring format. Of the 16 schools that opted to offer an alternate season boys volleyball program this spring, two remain to play for the State title.
Championship Match - Saturday, April 17
Kimberly (17-2) vs. Middleton (10-2) - 4 p.m.
GIRLS TOURNAMENT INFORMATION: The single-elimination tournament features semifinal and final matches in two divisions with a best-of-five-sets, rally-scoring format. Of the 115 schools that opted to offer a girls volleyball tournament opportunity this spring, four teams will play for the State title in Division 1 instead of the traditional eight qualifying teams, with four teams still in contention for the State crown in Division 2. Match-ups for the tournament is determined by seeding each of the teams in both divisions.
DIVISION 1 - Kettle Moraine H.S.
Semifinals - Thursday, April 15
#2 Manitowoc Lincoln (15-1) vs. #3 Sun Prairie (10-3) - 4:15 p.m.
#1 Appleton North (13-0) vs. #4 McFarland (12-2) - 7 p.m.
Championship @ Kaukauna H.S. - Saturday, April 17
Winners of Semifinals - 7 p.m.
DIVISION 2 - Beaver Dam H.S.
Semifinals - Thursday, April 15
#2 Washburn (16-0) vs. #3 St. Mary’s Springs (12-1) - 4:15 p.m.
#1 Brodhead (11-3) vs. #4 Royall (19-2) - 7 p.m.
Championship @ Kaukauna H.S. - Saturday, April 17
Winners of Semifinals - 1 p.m.
ALL MATCHES LIVE ON WIAA.TV: The semifinals and finals of the alternate season State Girls Volleyball Tournaments and the final of the alternate season State Boys Volleyball Tournament will be streamed live on the WIAA.TV portal of the NFHS Network on a consumer subscription basis for $10.99 per month. To purchase a subscription to the live programming, visit WIAA.TV and click on the subscription graphic on the page. Archived streams of the games will be available on demand on the NFHS Network after 72 hours.
LAST FALL-BOYS: Second-seeded Kettle Moraine won its first State championship with a 25-20, 25-13, 21-25, 25-14 victory over top-seeded Marquette in the title match.
LAST FALL-GIRLS: Top-seeded Hamilton won the Division 1 title with a 25-18, 17-25, 25-23, 25-20 decision over Burlington in the championship match. Top-seeded Luxemburg-Casco cruised to the Division 2 championship with a 25-22, 25-21, 25-17 win over Lakeside Lutheran in the title match. The one seed, Howards Grove, claimed the Division 3 crown by defeating Waterloo 23-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-11 in the title game. Second-seeded Catholic Central downed top-seeded McDonell Catholic 25-23, 25-21, 25-22 in the championship final to capture the Division 4 title.
ABOUT THE BOYS FINAL: Kimberly advances to the final of the alternate season after qualifying twice in the traditional fall State Tournament. The Papermakers’ last two seasons of participation resulted in a runner-up finish in 2018 and then capturing the program’s first championship in 2019. They placed runner-up in the Fox Valley Association this spring, and the Papermakers earned a berth in the title match with a 25-20, 17-25, 28-26, 25-20 victory over Appleton North in the sectional final held at Appleton North. Middleton has been no stranger to the State Tournament in the traditional fall season. The Cardinals will be appearing in a State Tournament for the 12th time, including six straight appearances from 2013-18. Their furthest advance toward a title was to the semifinals in 2007 and 2008. This alternate season, they advance to the final with a 25-21, 25-13, 25-21 sweep of Racine Case in the sectional final held at Middleton. The Cardinals are members of the Big Eight Conference, which did not conduct league standings in 2020-21.
ABOUT THE GIRLS DIVISION 1 FIELD: Appleton North has been bestowed the top seed in the bracket. The Lightning will be appearing in their sixth State Tournament overall, and they qualified in the traditional fall season the last time they played a season in 2019, falling in the quarterfinals. Their appearance in 2015 was their furthest advance in the tourney, falling in the semifinals. They qualify in the alternate season after cruising to a 25-16, 25-19, 25-17 win over Kimberly in the sectional final played at Clintonville. The Lightning finished first in the Fox Valley Association standings this spring. Second-seeded Manitowoc Lincoln makes its return to a State Tournament for the first time since 2014 and for the fourth time overall. The Ships capsized in the quarterfinals in 2008 and 2014 after compiling a 0-3 record in pool play in their first-ever appearance in 1998. They defeated Oshkosh West 25-15, 16-25, 25-18, 25-19 in the sectional final held at Oshkosh West to advance to the State semifinals in the alternate season. The Ships finished first in the Fox River Classic Conference this spring. Sun Prairie is the third seed in the bracket. The Cardinals return to the tournament field for essentially their third straight season and for the fourth time in the past five seasons. They have qualified for State six times overall. Their furthest advance in the tourney was to the semifinals in 2013 and 2016. They went the distance to defeat DeForest 25-23, 25-13, 12-25, 18-25, 15-13 in the sectional final played at Beaver Dam to earn their return berth in the tournament field. The Cardinals are members of the Big Eight Conference, which did not conduct league standings in 2020-21. Fourth-seeded McFarland returns to State for essentially its second straight appearance. The Spartans finished runner-up in Division 2 in their most recent season of participation in 2019. It will be their third overall appearance at State, having participated in Class B pool play in 1982. They failed to advance out of their pool that season. On Tuesday, they ousted Edgerton 25-16, 25-19, 25-19 to win the Kettle Moraine Sectional final. The Spartans are the alternate Season runners-up in the Rock Valley Conference this spring.
ABOUT THE GIRLS DIVISION 2 FIELD: Brodhead was issued the top seed in the bracket. The Cardinals will be making their third State Tournament appearance. They lost in the Division 2 semifinals during the traditional season in their 2008 appearance and in semifinals Division 3 in 2013. The Cardinals placed third in the Rock Valley Conference standings this spring. They advance to the State semifinals with a hard-fought 22-25, 25-16, 25-19, 18-25, 15-11 win over Laconia in the sectional final held at Central Wisconsin Christian. Second-seeded Washburn returns after a 19-year hiatus from a State Tournament. The Castle Guards make their fourth appearance overall. Their first State experience was in Class C in 1982, compiling a 2-7 record. They captured the program’s first and only State title in 2000 in Division 3, and they fell in the semifinal round in 2002. The Castle Guards swept Algoma 25-11, 25-15, 25-13 in their sectional final played at Crandon to advance to the tourney field. They finished atop the Indianhead Conference standings during the alternate season. St. Mary’s Springs, the #3-seeded team in the bracket, qualifies for State for the first time. The Ledgers earned their initial berth with a 27-25, 18-25, 25-21, 25-20 victory over Sevastopol in the Chilton Sectional final. They finished second in the Wisconsin Flyway Conference during the alternate season. Fourth-seeded Royall will also be experiencing the State Tournament for the first time. The Panthers’ advancement to the State semifinals comes virtue of their 17-25, 30-28, 25-16, 25-15 win over Cashton in the sectional final held at La Crosse Central. They were the champions of the Scenic Bluff Conference this spring.
WIAA OFFICIAL VOLLEYBALL: Molten is the official ball of the alternate season WIAA State Girls and Boys Volleyball Tournament Series. To learn more about Molten products, access the website at www.moltenusa.com.
NEED RESULTS?: Results of the alternate season State Boys and Girls Volleyball Tournaments are available on the WIAA website (www.wiaawi.org) by accessing the boys or girls volleyball tournament page.
STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MESSAGING: Receive updates of the State Boys and Girls Volleyball Tournament on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaavb. Also like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram at wiaawi.
STATE SOUVENIR PROGRAMS ONLINE: The souvenir programs for the alternate season State culminating events are available online and available to download and print at no cost. The complete State Boys & Girls Volleyball Tournaments program with rosters of qualifiers, history and schedule information can be accessed at: https://www.wiaawi.org/Portals/0/PDF/Publications/Programs/2020-21volleyballalternate.pdf.
ORDER STATE MEET APPAREL ONLINE: WIAA licensed apparel is available online for the alternate season State Boys & Girls Volleyball Tournaments. To browse and purchase branded merchandise, visit the WIAA Store at: https://wiaastatevbalternate21.itemorder.com/sale. Online purchases will be shipped after the online store closes prior to midnight on Sunday, April 25.