Top-seeded Marquette (41-3) advances to the final of the State Boys Volleyball Tournament with a 25-21, 25-15, 25-21 sweep Wauwatosa East (26-10) in the semifinals Saturday morning at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee.
The only time the Hilltoppers trailed on the scoreboard the entire match was during a brief stretch at the start of the second set. Marquette displayed its superiority at the net, recording a .413 hitting percentage and limiting the Red Raiders to a .118 efficiency.
Evan Dorschner led a highly efficient hitting attack with 13 kills for the Hilltoppers. Aidan Frazier added nine kills, and Liam Schroeder scored on six of his seven attacks. Luke Borowski distributed a team-high 27 assists. Defensively, Schroeder collected six blocks, including four solos, and Jack Von Rueden led the squad with eight digs.
The Red Raiders were led offensively by Aaron Plaisted with 12 kills and Joe Marx with a match-high 31 assists.
Marquette remains in the chase for a ninth State title, advancing to the title game for the first time since 2014. Wauwatosa East ends its season in the semifinals in its 10th State appearance.
Catholic Memorial (24-9) advances to play Marquette in the final with a 25-17, 25-20, 23-25, 25-19 victory over New Berlin Eisenhower/West (25-12) in the other semifinal Saturday.
After the Crusaders claimed the first two sets of the match, the United came back from a 23-21 deficit in the third set to send the game to a fourth set. However, with the score tied at 17-17 in the fourth set, Catholic Memorial put to rest any thoughts of a United comeback by scoring eight of the set’s final 11 points.
Zach Engsberg led the Crusaders offensively with 18 kills and a .640 hitting percentage. Ryan Brown added 12 kills and Ben Peschl dished out a match-high 47 assists. Engsberg and Josh Gableman led the Crusaders defensively with six blocks and 10 digs, respectively.
Zach Just and Kyle Kraninger each had 11 kills for the United, which was limited to a .090 hitting percentage. Brian Voight recorded 34 assists and Kraninger chipped in with nine digs. Petar Durev and Voight each had a match-high seven blocks.
Catholic Memorial advances to the title tilt seeking its third State championship, and New Berlin Eisenhower/West was eliminated from its fifth State appearance.