MHS spikers roll in state quarterfinals
GREEN BAY — Caden Van Buren shines at everything he does on a volleyball court.
Attacking. Defending. Setting. Leading.
Van Buren can certainly do it all.
Turns out Middleton’s junior outside hitter had one more trick in his large bag of treats — kicking.
During the Cardinals’ four-set win over Westosha Central in the WIAA Division 1 quarterfinals Wednesday, Van Buren was completely out of position on an early point in the first set. Van Buren threw out his foot — a completely legal play — and sent the ball back onto the Falcons’ side, where it fell just beyond the reach of two players for a winner.
“Luck,” Van Buren called it. “I just stuck my foot out and it went over and it was perfect.”
Middleton wasn’t perfect — but it was awfully impressive in rolling to a 25-14, 25-21, 19-25, 25-20 win over the Falcons.
The Cardinals, who are trying to defend their state championship, improved to 33-4 and won their 10th straight match. Third-seeded Middleton now faces second-seeded Marquette (25-6) in Thursday’s state semifinals.
The Falcons finished the year 27-2.
“It’s a great win for our program and our season,” Middleton coach Dylan Griffith said. “We’re continuing to build towards our ultimate goal of ending the season on the podium. That’s always our goal. The guys played really gritty today. We knew (Westosha Central) was going to come in with a lot of energy. I think we responded really great when we were challenged a little bit.”
Van Buren, one of the favorites for state Player of the Year honors, finished with 21 kills, four digs and had a sensational .357 kill percentage. Van Buren has been so dominant in 2024 that one of his teammates joked the Cardinals should just feed him the ball on every possession.
“That’s an ongoing joke on our team,” junior setter Bryce Stuttgen said. “We were talking before the game, I can’t remember who said it, but they said, ‘what if we just set Caden the entire time and we can just win?’ I thought that was funny.”
Of course, the Cardinals have several other weapons, and they were on full display against the Falcons.
Junior outside hitter Vance Ferry shined with 12 kills, seven digs, three aces and a .308 attack percentage.
Stuttgen had 37 assists and two aces, sophomore rightside Jonah Johnson had 10 digs and five kills and freshman libero Jude Gehrke had nine digs.
The Cardinals finished with an impressive .200 attack percentage, while Westosha Central’s was just .054.
While Middleton played in the majority of the top tournaments across the state this year — and faced most of the other elite teams multiple times — the Falcons played a lighter schedule. That meant Wednesday was the first time the two teams squared off.
“They were not at any of the tournaments that we normally play in,” Griffith said. “To get some scout on them, it’s really just looking back at previous matches that they've played against other teams and getting some film on them. We were able to get a good scout in the last couple days at practice and I think we executed it great and they struggled to respond, which is a compliment to our guys.”
Middleton opened with a bang, withstood some body blows in the middle of the match, and eventually delivered a knockout punch.
Van Buren ripped off five straight service points in Set 1 as the Cardinals raced to a 6-1 lead. On one point, Van Buren served, then finished with a kill from the back row.
Van Buren had the point of the match just moments later, though. Johnson served, but the Cardinals were quickly out of system and the Falcons appeared to hit a winner. But Van Buren recovered, threw out his foot, and his soccer shot magically found a safe landing spot for a winner that gave Middleton a 9-3 lead.
“I wasn’t really in position to cover, so that probably was not a good play,” Van Buren said.
Hardly.
Van Buren’s winner was part of a 10-2 run that gave Middleton a 17-7 lead in the opening set. Stuttgen was integral in that run with four straight service points, including an ace.
The Falcons crept back within eight points, but Middleton finished on a 7-4 burst to close out the first set. Johnson hammered home the winner on set point to give Middleton a 1-0 lead.
The Cardinals had a .300 attack percentage in the first set, while Westosha Central’s kill percentage was .000.
“We came out swinging in the first set,” Griffith said. “We had a lot of service pressure on them and they struggled to make some swings on their offense.”
The second set was far more competitive and the Falcons led, 18-16, late. But Middleton answered with a set-turning, 5-0, run and surged to a 21-18 lead.
Ferry had four straight service points during that stretch, which included a block kill from junior middle blocker Will Hoffman, an ace, and a combined block from Van Buren and Hoffman.
The Falcons could never creep back closer than two points and Van Buren ended the set with a rocket ball for an ace.
“They’re going to have a long leash to continue to play through different moments and different challenges,” Griffith said of his team.
Middleton was sloppy in the third set and the Falcons raced to leads of 7-3, 16-8 and eventually 19-10. The Cardinals answered with an 8-2 run and crept back within 21-18, but couldn't come any closer.
Middleton was far more efficient in the fourth set when it had 12 kills and hit at a .296 clip.
Van Buren had four straight service points early as Middleton grabbed a 7-3 lead. The Falcons crept back within two on multiple occasions and trailed, 20-17, late when Van Buren showed his negotiating skills were as good as his volleyball talents.
Johnson appeared to have a kill that hit the floor, but the officials let the point continue. The Falcons wound up winning the point and thought they pulled within 20-18.
Van Buren then approached the referee, claiming Johnson’s earlier kill hit the ground. After the officials conferred, they agreed with Van Buren and awarded Middleton the point, which sent its lead to 21-17.
“I just told him it was completely down,” Van Buren said of Johnson’s kill. “I told him what I saw and then my whole team was telling me the line judge already called it down, which was the correct call. So then I talked to the ref, told him go talk to your line judge because he already called it in. He actually took the down ref over and somehow it got flipped. But it was definitely the right call.”
And one that ended the Falcons’ comeback hopes.
Junior middle blocker Porter McGee and Stuttgen teamed up for a block to make it 24-20. Then on match point, McGee and Johnson had a block to end it.
“We came out the fourth (set) and our mindset has just been awesome this entire season,” Griffith said. “So to lose that set and come into the fourth (set) with that 0-0 mindset and continue to keep the aggression on our side, keep taking swings and ultimately take the match.”
Middleton lost five of six starters from last year’s team and many expected this to be a rebuilding year.
Instead, the Cardinals were back in the state semifinals and just two steps away from another title.
“It is completely mind blowing,” Van Buren said. “I think it’s a testament to the coaches. They put a lot in.
“We lost everyone after last year and I was like, ‘Hey Dylan, it was fun to win a state championship, but what are we going to have next year?’ And he said, you guys are all very good. We’re going to be in the same position and I need you guys to believe that.
“I’d say we believed it and now here we are again. It’s crazy.”
