After an impressive performance during the Nov. 2-4 State tournament, Middleton’s boy’s volleyball team won the state competition for the first time in school history. The closest that the school had gotten to a State title previously was to the semifinals in 2008. Along with the Cardinals getting the number one seed in the state competition for the first time this year, the team also broke the WIAA kill percentage in their quarterfinal game. This is Middleton’s fourteenth time making it to state out of 61 schools in Wisconsin and out of the 60 times this competition has been held.
Caden Van Buren, a sophomore outside hitter, played in all of the competition games and had the most kills on the team at the state tournament. He joined seniors Ambrose Engling and Teddy Young helping lead the team to victory with 16 kills in the final game. Lucas Rosa with 18 digs, the most on the team, helped the team’s defense, and the team’s middle blocker, Hudson Sweitzer, led the team in blocks.
“This season was very unique because of the group of players that we had,” said head coach Dylan Griffith. “All of the players bought into the culture that we tried to put in place. Their hard work, resilience, and dedication to upholding that every day of the season played a large part in the success that we had.”
Middleton had a fan bus where students could watch the volleyball tournament and support the team of eleven seniors and four sophomores. MHS Athletic Director Jamie Sims drove the bus to Green Bay.
On Nov. 2, in Green Bay, Wis., Middleton (32-3) played Union Grove (19-15) in the quarter-finals, winning all three sets with scores of 25-11, 25-17, 25-12. The Cardinals made school and state records when playing against Union Grove in the quarterfinals. Middleton broke the WIAA record for the highest kill percentage with .525 percent during the game. The game started with an ace by Brody Stuttgen and ended with a kill by Hudson Sweitzer.
In the first set, the Middleton team managed to get 11 kills, 2 errors and 19 total attempts. In the second set, the Cardinals got 14 kills, 4 errors and 22 total attempts. In the third and final set, the team got 15 kills, 2 errors and 20 total attempts.
On Nov. 3, Middleton (32-3) played against Kimberly High School (34-8) in the semifinals with final scores of 25-23, 25-19, 25-18. This was the first time the Cardinals have made it to the semifinals since 2008.
In the first set, the Cardinals got 11 kills, 2 errors and 19 total attempts. During the second set, the team got 12 kills, 3 errors and 23 total attempts. In the last set, Middleton got 11 kills, 2 errors and 22 total attempts.
Finally, on Nov. 4, Middleton (33-3) played against Arrowhead High School (38- 5) in the finals. The game went into five sets with close scores of 25-18, 21-25, 25-22, 24-26, 15-6, This was the first state win for the Middleton High School boy’s volleyball team in all of school history. Throughout five sets Middleton was able to get 59 kills, 24 errors, and 145 total attempts.
“Us as coaches will continue to push for the things that get us into the position to win a state championship,” Griffith said. “But ultimately every team and every year is different so we will write our own story just as the team did this season. What comes with that is maintaining a consistent work ethic and mentality.”
The 2023 Middleton boys varsity volleyball paved the way for future teams, demonstrating that their perseverance and dedication to the sport paid off and awarded Middleton an outstanding victory.
