Middleton spikers one step from state title
GREEN BAY — Dylan Griffith is superstitious.
Middleton’s boys volleyball coach doesn't like looking ahead. He doesn‘t take anything for granted.
So that meant Griffith didn't do any scouting on Mukwonago — the Cardinals’ opponent in the state semifinals — until MHS had won its quarterfinal match.
And that meant a late-night cram session for Griffith and his staff.
“Fairly late,” Griffith said of how late he was up getting ready for the Indians. “I’d say 12:30-ish. Then we did some more film in the morning with the team, and the guys really digested it well.”
Boy, did they ever.
Top-seeded Middleton played one of its best matches of the season, hitting .358 as a team and sweeping the fourth-seeded Indians, 25-21, 25-18, 25-22, on Nov. 5 at the Resch Center.
The Cardinals won their 11th straight match, improved to 34-2 overall and advanced to the state finals for the fourth straight year. Mukwonago finished the season 23-7.
“I'll tell you, Middleton is a phenomenal team,” Mukwonago coach Michael Kopesky said. “They were great last year. They won the state title, and then this year … I know they lost some players, but man, they have some serious weapons on that team, and their offense is potent. And we struggled to slow them down.”
That’s for sure.
Middleton junior setter Liam Colgan, who spent the last two years at a military base in Bavaria, Germany before transferring to MHS, did a magnificent job of spreading the wealth and finished with 19 assists and seven digs. Cardinals outside hitter Jonah Johnson had 14 kills, three digs, three blocks and hit at a .480 clip.
Sophomore outside hitter Tanner Goldbeck had 10 kills, three digs, three blocks and a .280 kill percentage, while junior outside hitter Mason King had seven kills, three digs and hit at a .429 clip. Senior middle blocker Henry Dailey had five kills and four blocks, junior middle blocker Keller McGee had three blocks, three kills and a .400 kill percentage, while sensational junior libero Jude Gehrke had 13 digs and four assists.
“Obviously, super, super proud of our team,” said Griffith, who’s led MHS to state titles in 2023 and 2025 and a runner-up finish in 2024. “It is certainly not easy to go and sweep in a state semifinal game. You know, there were some unknowns going in the game. We haven't seen Mukwonago all year. They’ve got a ton of really good volleyball players, really good athletes.
“Everybody's a good player, so we knew we were going to get a good fight from them. They're just really technically sound, both on the defensive and offensive side. So really proud of our quick film and kind of scout on them, and the guys executed it perfectly. So super happy for our team and the program, and very happy to be back in the state championship match.”
Middleton struggled during a four-set win over eighth-seeded Wauwatosa East in the state quarterfinals on Nov. 4. But the Cardinals were cleaner, far more precise, and rolled past a Mukwonago team that was making its first state tournament appearance since 1955.
“I think we were just a lot more comfortable than we were (in the quarterfinals),” Colgan said. “I mean, we're almost like a brand new team compared to last year, so we have never really experienced like playing at a state tournament. So it was definitely a little nerve wracking (in the first round), but today we really got our groove.”
King agreed with his teammate.
“I think we just played better,” King said. “For me, I was more comfortable. I kind of got used to playing on that court.”
The Cardinals certainly looked comfortable throughout, holding substantial advantages in kills (39-31), assists (35-29) and holding Mukwonago to a .133 kill percentage.
“They're big and they're strong and yeah, they play,” Kopesky said of Middleton. “They were a good team.”
The Cardinals, who started slow against ‘Tosa East and lost the first set, began this match red hot. Middleton scored the first five points of the set and pushed its lead to 16-8 after a kill from Johnson. The scrappy Indians used a 9-3 run, though, and suddenly pulled even, 21-21.
“The thing we focus on in Mukwonago is playing with a lot of heart and drive,” said Indians junior outside hitter Nathan Glasgow, who had a team-high 12 kills. “We work on it in practice a lot, hustling a lot, and we obviously got down in the first set quite a bit. They went on a really early run, but we just fought back really hard, and we were just picking up a lot of balls, playing a lot of defense, covering well.”
Middleton showed why it's been the state’s No. 1 team for most of the year, though.
First, King had a huge kill on an assist from Colgan that gave MHS a 22-21 lead. Johnson followed with a kill on assist from Gehrke, then Colgan ripped off an ace.
Then on match point, Johnson and McGee combined on a block kill to give Middleton the first set.
“We try to be as consistent as possible in all phases of the game, and you know, for us, it's the serve and pass game,” Griffith said. “You know, when we're on, and on our from the service line, it just makes the rest of the game easier. When you put enough pressure on the other team, it opens up some things on the offensive side of the ball and makes things a little bit more predictable when we're playing defense.”
There were nine ties and four lead changes during the second set. But the Cardinals used a 6-1 run to grab a 21-15 lead to eventually pull away.
McGee, Johnson and Goldbeck all had kills in that stretch as Colgan continually did yeoman’s working spreading the wealth to his bevy of targets.
“I thought we played hard, but they just had a lot of momentum going through each set, and our guys tried to battle back, but it's just that's a big hill to climb against a team like that,” Mukwonago’s Kopesky said of Middleton. “They might get down a little bit, but then they come back and they just know how to come back from these situations.
“So I give them a lot of credit. They played great. They deserved it.”
The third set was knotted, 9-9, when Middleton embarked on a 7-1 run and grabbed a commanding 16-10 lead. Johnson, Dailey and Goldbeck all had kills in that stretch, and the Indians had four attack errors.
Mukwonago battled back within 23-20, but Johnson had a kill, and on match point, the Indians had a service error.
“They're a really good team,” Griffith said of Mukwonago. “So just really happy of our response.”
Middleton brought back just two regulars from its 2025 state championship team — Johnson and Gehrke. But when Griffith had them write down their goals back in August, they all had the same response — another state championship.
Saying that is one thing. Doing it is another.
Amazingly, the Cardinals haven’t missed a beat. And after disposing of Mukwonago in just 69 minutes, they were on the brink of a third state championship in four years.
“I knew we had the most talent in the state if we just play our game,” King said. “If we’re consistent over the whole season we’ll win. I don't think any team can beat us when we're playing our best.”
Colgan agreed.
“I mean coming into a new team and learning that they won state last year, it was very exciting,” Colgan said. “But after being on the team, it was just like I know we have a good coach, and seeing how we play, just seeing how we can fight from being down so much in a set and still win, it gives me the confidence that I think we can definitely win the state championship.”
Griffith felt that way from Day One.
He knew that despite heavy graduation losses, the program was loaded with talent. And that’s just how the Cardinals have played, putting together winning streaks of 13, 11 and 10 matches during another magical season.
“These guys have been very impressive this year,” Griffith said. “Obviously, we want to achieve what we're able to achieve, but these guys have very, very high standards for themselves.
“So we knew going in that (a state title) is the goal, and we knew that we were going to have to work for it. So these guys have put in the work, and now we're here in the (championship) match, and we’ve got one more to go.”
