November 2024

GREEN BAY — They were just 24 hours away from playing for a boys state volleyball championship.

And a trio of Middleton’s top players were asked for a word to describe their path to the title game.

Caden Van Buren, the Cardinals’ brilliant junior outside hitter, called the ride “special.” Will Hoffman, Middleton’s terrific junior blocker, talked about the team’s “strong mentality.” And Vance Ferry, another junior outside hitter, discussed the Cardinals’ “unity.”

All of those qualities brought MHS to the brink of its second straight title. And even though Sussex Hamilton rallied for a 25-10, 23-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-10 win last Friday at the Resch Center in Green Bay, the Cardinals knew their journey to the brink of a championship was certainly remarkable.

“This whole group has been special all year,” said Van Buren, whose team finished the year 34-5. “We didn’t know what we had … we came together. We’ve glued.

GREEN BAY — The WIAA and the WISAA merged back in 2000.

And in the 25 seasons since, Marquette’s boys volleyball program has been the state bully.

In the past quarter century, the Hilltoppers have won 10 state championship, have three runner-up finishes and been to the state tournament a whopping 22 times.

On Thursday afternoon, though, Middleton showed there might be a new sheriff in the boys volleyball world.

The Cardinals controlled the first two sets, held off a Marquette rally in the third, and downed the Hilltoppers, 25-19, 25-21, 25-23 in a state semifinal game held at the Resch Center in Green Bay.

Third-seeded Middleton, the defending state champs, improved to 34-4 and will take aim at a repeat when it faces top-seeded Sussex Hamilton in the title match Friday at approximately 7:30 p.m. Second-seeded Marquette finished its season 27-7.

A man who flew into the Middleton Municipal Airport – Morey Field with the largest quantity of fentanyl ever seized in the western half of Wisconsin was sentenced Thursday (OCT. 31) in federal court to 12 years in prison and eight years supervised release. 

Alex Harrington, Chief Meteorologist for WISC-TV (Channel 3), was a recent guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Madison West Middleton. As a farm kid, Harrington gained an understanding of the economic importance of weather to people, like his parents, who owned a 1500 acre spread near Arena, Wisconsin. However, Harrington points to The Wizard of Oz  movie and its tornado scene as first sparking his interest in all things atmospheric, beginning at age 5.