Germantown, Catholic Memorial Advance to Boys Volleyball Semifinals
Posted: 11/9/2018
Top-seeded Germantown (43-3) swept Franklin in its quarterfinal match of the State Boys Volleyball Tournament Friday afternoon at Wisconsin Lutheran College.
The Warhawks dominated the match statistically. They posted a team hitting percentage of .452, which is the second-best performance in State tournament history. In contrast, the Sabers struggled on the attack with a -.017 hitting percentage.
Carter Schmidt led all attackers with 13 kills and an .812 hitting percentage, and Luke Taylor, Bryce Behrendt and Jackson Van Engen each contributed offensively with seven kills apiece. Hans Stelpflug dished out a match-high 31 assists, and Behrendt added three service aces. Defensively, four players shared the team lead with four digs.
Luigi Saraspe and Shane Staerkel accounted for 12 of team’s 17 kills in the match with seven and five, respectively. Jason Misslich distributed 14 assists, and Danny Dutkiewicz made a game-high six digs on defense.
Germantown advances to the State semifinal for the second consecutive season, and Franklin (19-15) ends its season with its second State appearance.
Catholic Memorial (18-7) came back from a 2-1 deficit to oust former defending champion Marquette from the State Boys Volleyball Tournament Friday afternoon at the Recreation Complex in Milwaukee.
The Crusaders advance to the semifinals with a 19-25, 17-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-8 over the fourth-seeded Hilltoppers. Evan Solomon led all hitters with 18 kills for Catholic Memorial. Ben Serb added 16 kills, and Chris Brozynski chipped in with 12. Ryan Peschl assisted on 53 of the Crusaders’ 65 kills in the match. Defensively, Matt Wein led the team in digs with 17, and Braden Bielinski was credited with one block solo and two block assists.
Joe DeStefanis had 17 kills to lead the Hilltoppers’ hitting attack, and Sam Larcheid added 15 kills and Robbie Stegeman contributed with 10. Charlie Brockman was credited with 44 assists, and he led the team defensively at the net with two block solos and an assist. DeStefanis was the team leader in digs with 14.
The Crusaders return to the semifinals for the first time since winning the State title in 2016, and Marquette (28-9) completes the season with its 17 State appearance.
