MHS spikers advance to state finals
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.
“Marquette is a great opponent for us,” Middleton coach Dylan Griffith said. “They challenge us every year that we play them, and they're perennially an awesome program. So it's a big win for us, and obviously our program to continue moving forward and obviously go compete for a state championship.”
Middleton had several heroes in this match.
Junior outside hitter Caden Van Buren led the Cardinals in kills (11), digs (10) and aces (three), while junior middle blocker Will Hoffman was terrific posting five kills and a .714 attack percentage. Junior setter Bryce Stuttgen had 24 assists and two aces, and junior outside hitter Vance Ferry had eight kills, eight digs and two aces.
Middleton hit at an impressive .221 clip, while its middle blocking tandem of Hoffman and Porter McGee frustrated Marquette all night. The Hilltoppers finished with 21 hitting errors and had just an .096 attack percentage due largely to Middleton’s stifling defense.
“Middleton’s a heck of a team,” Marquette coach Jake Cosson said. “I think some of their blocking schemes confused us a little bit. We made some swings that normally, when we sit back, we’d be like, ‘I probably shouldn’t take that swing again.’ ”
This was the fourth time Middleton and Marquette met in 2024 and was a display of how far the Cardinals have come since late-August.
The Hilltoppers swept the Cardinals twice in the first 10 days of the season. When they met again in late-October, Middleton went to Marquette and swept the Hilltoppers, 3-0.
The Cardinals then rolled over the Hilltoppers in the most important of their four meetings.
“I think definitely mindset was a big important thing in our whole entire game, especially when we called timeouts, coach gave us some good advice to get through the whole match,” Ferry said. “And definitely the teamwork, as well. It just helped us throughout the whole entire game to finish it off.”
Hoffman agreed.
“I think that at the start of the season, we were a lot more timid than … we are now,” he said. “And I think that teamwork kind of helped us get to the point we are now.
“And then our block also became a lot more disciplined, where, when we first started playing them towards the beginning of the season, it was, it was little more of a rough block, I'd say. But now we're a lot more disciplined, which I think helped a lot.”
Middleton used an early 6-1 run in Set 1 to take an 11-6 lead it wouldn't relinquish. Ferry had three service points in that stretch and junior libero Josh Tubbs had two.
The Cardinals’ lead was 16-13 when they went on a 7-1 burst, stretched that advantage to 23-14 and largely put the set away. Marquette came as close as five points, but Van Buren ended the set with a kill.
A huge key to the opening set was Middleton hit at a sizzling .261 clip, while Marquette had 11 errors and finished with a kill percentage of -.034.
“Those are free points,” Van Buren said. “But at the same time, it's a testament to our block and our defense. We put a lot of pressure on right away. We showed our block. They got blocked a lot, and then when that happens, they don't really know where to go and they start trying different things and missing. And that's kind of volleyball. So we started with our block, had good defense and that’s kind of where that led them.”
Marquette regrouped and built a 15-12 lead in the second set when Van Buren put on a serving clinic that turned the set around.
Van Buren’s serving prowess sparked a 5-0 run in which the Hilltoppers were continually out of system. The result was two kills from McGee, one kill from Ferry and an ace from Van Buren as Middleton grabbed a 17-15 lead.
“He's so consistent. He doesn't error a lot,” Griffith said of Van Buren’s serving. “He may not always get the ace stat, sure, but the amount of balls that he puts into play and forces is really tough for the opponent.
“So it's challenging, even though, you know, it's not the hardest serve in the gym every single time. But it’s consistent, he places it amazingly, and it's really tough for teams to play.”
Marquette crept within 21-20 when the Cardinals ran off three unanswered points to reclaim control. First Hoffman had a kill, the Hilltoppers had a hitting error and Van Buren had a block kill as Middleton’s lead grew to 24-20.
After the Hilltoppers earned a sideout, Ferry had a huge kill on set point and the Cardinals surged to a 2-0 advantage.
“Testament to the mentality of the guys throughout the entire match, right?” Griffith said. “They kept the pressure on Marquette. Their offense struggled a little bit in the first couple sets against our block. We were super disciplined there.”
That didn’t change in the third set as Middleton raced to leads of 6-2 and 18-10 and appeared set to cruise to a three-set victory. Marquette had other ideas, though.
The Cardinals still led, 24-19, when the Hilltoppers earned a sideout, then senior setter Asa Kloss went on a three-point serving run that pulled Marquette within 24-23.
“To be honest, I did get a little worried,” Hoffman said of the Hilltoppers’ comeback. “But I knew deep down that all of our players, everyone that was on the court at the moment could definitely close out that set and could finish it for us. So I had a lot of faith in all the guys that were on the court, and I knew every single one of them could definitely put the ball away.”
Which is just what they did.
Both teams struggled to finish on match point, which lasted 24 seconds. Finally, Stuttgen set a perfect ball to Van Buren, who delivered a kill that sent the Cardinals into the state championship match.
“I don't think I was worried at all,” Ferry said. “I knew that we had a good chance of winning that game, and if we set the right people that we would win that game. And I think our consistency throughout the game showed that.”
The Cardinals won their 11th straight match and have won 16 of 17 overall. And in the process, they eliminated the program that has dominated the sport since the turn of the century.
“It's really hard to sweep a team in a state semifinal match, especially against the team that's so good and has so many offensive options,” Griffith said of Marquette. “So for them to be able to come into the third set after winning the first two and really take it back to them and close it out is really cool.”
Van Buren agreed.
“We stayed disciplined,” he said. “Stayed more disciplined and closed out sets, more so than the first two (matches) we played them.
“We're gluing more. I think we're playing really high level volleyball right now, and we're in the state championship. So it'll be a fun one (Friday).”
