MHS spikers surge past scrappy Red Raiders

GREEN BAY — No. 8 seeds rarely make No. 1 seeds sweat.

Especially when the favorite has won 95% of its matches, and the underdog has won just 40% of the time.

But that’s the predicament Middleton’s boys volleyball team found itself in on Nov. 4.

The No. 1 ranked and top-seeded Cardinals dropped the first set of their WIAA state quarterfinal match to eighth-seeded Wauwatosa East, 25-23. And suddenly, defending state champion Middleton was in the unexpected position of playing from behind.

“I think at the beginning of the game we were kind of just expecting to win off the bat,” Middleton senior rightside Jonah Johnson said. “But once (‘Tosa East) started actually playing good volleyball … then we kind of started to lock in.”

They sure did.

It was far from easy, but Middleton settled in, weathered the storm and captured the final three sets, 25-20, 25-22, 25-20.

The Cardinals improved to 33-2 and advanced to a state semifinal against Mukwonago. The Red Raiders, who battled injuries throughout the year but got hot in the postseason, finished the season 15-23.

“‘Tosa East does not play like they are an eight seed in the tournament,” Middleton coach Dylan Griffith said. “But we were able to kind of respond after the first set and get back to our good volleyball and our system, and our service pressure kind of increased as the match went along, so I think we just got a little bit more comfortable and confident.”

Junior outside hitter Mason King led Middleton with 15 kills and a .333 kill percentage. King also added eight digs and four blocks.

Johnson had 14 kills, six digs and three blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Tanner Goldbeck had 13 kills, four digs, three blocks and a .310 kill percentage. Junior setter Liam Colgan had 41 assists and eight digs, while junior libero Jude Gehrke had 12 digs and seven assists.

Seven-foot senior middle blocker Henry Dailey added six kills and three blocks, while junior middle blocker Keller McGee had six blocks and four digs.

‘Tosa East junior outside hitter Isaiah Joseph was a handful, finishing with 15 kills, two assists, two digs and two blocks. But Middleton’s .270 kill percentage was dramatically higher than the Red Raiders .132.

The Cardinals did hurt themselves with 21 service errors, which kept ‘Tosa East in the match, at times.

“I always think I can do better no matter what, but I think that was a good almost like warm up for the rest of state,” Gehrke said. “Overall, I'd say we definitely got better throughout the match. I was really happy with that. And then, just to be able to close it out, I think we're much more confident going to the rest of the matches.”

The Red Raiders, who stunned perennial power Milwaukee Marquette in the sectional finals, played with great confidence early.

‘Tosa East ran off seven straight points to grab a quick 8-2 lead and never trailed in the first set. These same teams had met on Oct. 16 and Middleton rolled to a 3-0 win, so the Red Raiders’ fast start was certainly surprising.

“I'd say the main difference I think is they served a lot better than they did when we played them the first time,” Griffith said. “I think it kind of made us a little bit uncomfortable.”

Middleton battled back and forged a tie at 15-15, but the Red Raiders scored the next two points and reclaimed a 17-15 advantage. Amazingly, neither team recorded another point on its own serve, and after 16 consecutive sideouts, ‘Tosa East escaped the set with a 25-23 win.

“I think we were ready to see what they were doing, and then they did it, and so our game plan was working really well,” Red Raiders coach Sydney Coselman said. “That's why we won that first set because we were sticking to that game plan to a T.”

Middleton, meanwhile, rebounded quickly after being knocked down early.

“I thought that first set was a good warm up for what we were going into, facing like every other team in state,” Goldbeck said. “People aren't just going to like stop playing like they might have if it was just a normal game. So I think that was good.

“And then after (the first set), I thought we did a really good job of like focusing on the game plan that (Griffith) had for us ahead of time. And I thought we all did a really good job of executing that.”

The Red Raiders played with tremendous spunk, though, and jumped to a 6-3 lead in the second set, as well. Middleton used an 8-2 run midway through the set to jump to a 15-11 lead and never trailed again.

Six different Cardinals had kills during that run, including two from King and Johnson.

The Red Raiders pulled back within 17-15, when Middleton ran off five straight points to pull away. Goldbeck and Dailey had kills in that burst, while McGee had an ace that pushed the Cardinals’ lead to 22-15.

Colgan then had a kill on set point on an assist from Gehrke that evened the match at one set each.

“I think in the first set, a lot of us were like, kind of timid from the service line and not really like going after it like we usually would in a game,” Gehrke said. “And I think … after we eventually lost that, I think it built like a little bit of intensity.

“Like we’ve got to win the next three, and then we started playing more focused volleyball. It was more determined and confident as we went through.”

It sure was.

There were 17 ties and seven lead changes during a dramatic third set and neither team led by more than three points. That margin came when Middleton scored the final two points — first a back row kill from King, then a solo block from Dailey on set point.

The Cardinals kept giving the Red Raiders life with six service errors in the set. But when Middleton needed a play, it found a way to deliver time and again.

“It's huge in terms of momentum for the match,” Griffith said of winning the third set. “We've been fortunate enough to take a lot of matches in three (sets), so I think you know losing that first set was just motivation.

“And you know when it's men's volleyball, it's a lot of side out volleyball, so it was very back and forth, some missed serves, some side outs, some missed serves, some side outs. So, I mean, we're used to that. We're very comfortable in those situations. Just go get the ball and again take a rip from the service line and try to stop the other team.”

Middleton was tough to stop in the fourth set, when it posted a .273 kill percentage and had 17 kills. Meantime, the Red Raiders had just six kills and an .038 kill percentage — their lowest of the match — in the final set.

“It was a great match, high energy match,” East’s Coselman said. “They showed up. I think we could have done a little bit better and stuck to our game plan a little bit more. They definitely kept us on our toes.”

The Cardinals jumped to leads of 6-1 and 12-6 in the final set, and still led 18-12 after an ace from McGee. The Red Raiders — as they had all night — refused to go quietly, though, closing back within 20-17 and 23-20.

Middleton got a kill from Goldbeck to set up match point. Then East’s Joseph had a hitting error and the Cardinals prevailed.

“It was a very competitive match,” Griffith said. “They've got really athletic and dynamic pins, so we knew they were going to get a lot of their offense from the outside. They found some different ways to slow us down defensively and kind of stopped us a little bit in the middle, and we were kind of able to weather the storm a little bit from the push that they were trying to make.

“As the match went on, I think we got a little bit more comfortable. We started to adjust as the match went on and slowed them down just a little bit.”