Will a Tosa Team Punch a Ticket to Tosa: A Preview of Boys Sectional Eight

We wrap our previews of the boys sectionals with a look at number eight, which features Brookfield Central, Brookfield East, Shorewood, Wauwatosa East, Wauwatosa West and Whitefish Bay/Dominican.

From everything we're hearing, it will probably come down to Shorewood and Tosa East. But before we cover those two, let's look at what else is out there.

Brookfield Central will be well-stocked with senior leadership, starting with honorable mention all-conference performer Matt Sova. Other seniors include Jordan DuChateau, Joey Gignac, Abu Jacob, Ryan Anderson, Matt Zwerlein, Jake Kramer and Bryce Cornell.

Tosa West loses '08 setter Rob Spiering, but they return senior hitter Marc Pickering and should make some noise.

Besides losing BYU-bound Phil Fuchs and all-conference star Mike Masterson, we really don't know much about Brookfield East or Whitefish Bay/Dominican. (Note: We did receive the following helpful comment after this post was originally published: "Brookfield East graduated their entire starting lineup and they have a new coach this year--Tim Owen played for Middleton and made all-state in 2000. Setter Mike Beining will be their senior leader, and senior outside hitter Andrew Thompson will be the go-to guy on offense.")

Tosa East took Marquette to five in last year's semifinals and they'll return several key contributors. Look for senior Brian Cashion and junior Kyle O'Connell to make a serious contribution. And they'll eventually also have one of the state's best setters in senior Zach Liska.

Shorewood will be led by senior outside hitter, Nick Gibson, who was first-team, all-Woodland and honorable mention all-state. Gibson might just turn out to be one of the finest of the '09s. Look for senior Pat Sellars to also make a solid contribution for Shorewood. (Note: We received the following anonymous insight after this post was originally published: "Nick Yannett, sophomore, for Shorewood is also a stud at MH, played 15-1s for North Shore and he's a beast.")

Our prediction: Tosa East over Shorewood in five.

Even though our boys preview is now finished, we're not nearly through with it. Any new intelligence will be added to the posts. We're hoping to add schedule and roster links once they're available. And you'll be able to access them easily by clicking on the label "Ticket to Tosa 2008 Preview."

Good luck to all the boys teams, both those with a shot at immortality and the one that are just struggling to get some much-needed attention focused on boys volleyball at their high school. It's a great sport. Enjoy the ride.

Tomorrow: Girls Division Four, Sectional One

Will Marquette Lose a Game Between Here and Tosa: A Preview of Boys Sectional Seven

Six teams make up boys sectional seven: Marquette, Pius XI, Waukesha North, Waukesha South, West Allis Central and West Allis Hale. Meaning no disrespect to the other five, Marquette is clearly the odds-on favorite.

But more on that in a moment.

First, let's look at the five teams that will try to give Marquette a run for its money, starting with Pius XI. The Popes will be led by senior all-state outside hitter Dave Maternowski. He's a tremendous force and should receive significant help from senior libero and second-team all-Classic Eight performer, Peter Rebholz. Pius also returns their setter, senior Anthony Kosinski.

West Allis Hale will have senior outside hitter Adam Cosson leading the charge. He was second team all-conference in the Greater Metro. Junior Dylan Hardwick will also play a key role. He earned honorable mention all-conference honors in the Greater Metro last season. (Side note: We're going to reference various all-conference honors a lot in the next few paragraphs, and here's a link to the lists.)

West Allis Central should also make some noise, returning seniors Bobby Gnatzig (second team all-Greater Metro) and Ryan Ford (honorable mention all-Greater Metro).

We don't know much about Waukesha North other than they lost a quality '08 in Zak Kzasnika. Ditto for Waukesha South, which lost '08 star Wade Miller. Does anyone know anything we don't. We'll gladly update.

Now back to Marquette.

The WIAA site states the following: "Since the return of the Tournament Series, Marquette has won the championship four times (2002, 2004, 2005 and 2007)." Since that 2007 championship team had eight juniors and one sophomore, how can they not be a favorite to win sectional seven, the quarters, the semis and their fifth championship in the last seven years?

Let's take it position by position: They have two of the best middles in the state in seniors Jack Geary and Tom Niswonger, one of the best setters in the state in junior Pete Heinen and one of the top outsides in the country in second-team all-state senior Alex Becherer. Add a solid supporting cast in Jack Hauser, Dan Thew, Matt Macci and Nate Kohlenberg, and you have yourself a favorite.

There is, of course, a reason they play the matches (and we can't wait), but our prediction for sectional seven is still Marquette over West Allis Hale in three.

Tomorrow: Boys Sectional Eight

Will a Different Racine Make a Run: A Preview of Boys Sectional Six

OK, we've thrown out this disclaimer before, but we'll say it again: What you're reading in this and past previews ain't journalism. It's an attempt to shine a spotlight on whatever sectional we're covering on that particular day. We're googling what we can and combining it with background information we're receiving from a few sources. But there are still plenty of blanks we can't fill. (We have no idea, for example, why we can't find Racine St. Catherine's on the results from last year's playoffs.) Even the most basic help would be much appreciated. Thanks and now on with the preview...

Another day, another sectional preview. Today, we turn our attention to boys sectional six, which features seven teams: Greendale, Greenfield, Heritage Christian, Racine Case, Racine Horlick, Racine Park and Racine St. Catherine’s.

And this sectional can probably be summed up in two words: Congratulations, graduate.

Baker, Pfeilstifter, Cheever, Jaskulske, Larsen (no, not that Larsen), Marita, you name it. Probably no sectional in the state lost more go-to players to graduation than sectional six. At the head of that list, of course, is Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel player of the year John Baker, who will play for Cal State-Northridge this year.

So who lost the least?

Not Greenfield. Last season's Woodland Conference runner-up lost its fair share of '08s, including Matt Maciejewski, who will play at UW-Oshkosh, and Woodland Conference player of the year, Andy Cheever, who's off to Lakeland College.

Not Racine Case. They lost middle Steve Jaskulske and setter Dan Esgar.

And certainly not the Class of '08-stacked Racine Park, which lost to Catholic Memorial last year in that 21-19 five-game state quarterfinal thriller. In addition to the aforementioned Baker, they'll have to replace Ben Pfeilstifter, Eric Meeusen and Sam Schultz, among others.

Maybe it's Racine St. Catherine's. It appears as though they'll return a quality player in senior outside hitter Jake Thomas.

But no, it's probably not them, either. The team that lost the least to graduation is no doubt Racine Horlick. Yes, they lost stars like senior rightside Kevin Larsen, but they'll return the big-time play of senior middle Jamil Wilson, who will be racking up kills as fast as senior setter Kurt Larsen will be scoring assists.

Others in this sectional include Greendale (which we don't know much about) and Heritage Christian, which recently completed a rough inaugural season in the Woodland Conference. The Patriots' JV did, however, win three matches, which prompted the following optimistic words on their site: "We are looking forward to next year to be more of a force in our conference and beyond."

If anyone can supply any additional insight, we'll adjust the post as needed.

Our prediction: Racine Horlick over Racine Park in three.

Tomorrow: Boys Sectional Seven

Will New Berlin Be a Newcomer at the State Tournament: A Preview of Boys Sectional Five

Our preview of boys sectional five repeats an all-too-familiar pattern: We've been able to get a decent amount of intel on a handful of teams (although not nearly as much as we'd like), but we've drawn a complete blank on the rest. You know, it almost seems as though boys volleyball isn't getting the media coverage it deserves, hmm. Nothing, however, will keep us from sharing what we do know and updating as we learn more and more and still more.

Six teams will be vying for a Ticket to Tosa from boys sectional five: Franklin, Kenosha Bradford, Kenosha Tremper, Muskego, New Berlin United and South Milwaukee.

But it will most likely come down to Kenosha Tremper, Franklin or New Berlin United.

Tremper will be led by senior outside hitters Tomas Goldsmith and Nick Mueller, who had 197 and 203 kills respectively last year for a team that made it to the state quarterfinals. Other returning letter-winners include senior middle Ben Dawiec.

New Berlin United has Jeremy Dejno, one of the best juniors in the country, who recently played for the USA Youth White team at the 2008 High Performance Championships in Tucson. Michael Beeler is a sophomore middle (we think) who should also make a contribution.

Franklin features senior outside Nathan Fons, who will be on the receiving end of sets by Riley Stone. John Jablonowski is likely to see plenty of action at middle.

We need more information on South Milwaukee, Muskego and Kenosha Bradford. Any help is always appreciated. We said please.

Our prediction: New Berlin United over Kenosha Tremper in five on Tremper's home court.

Tomorrow: Boys Sectional Six

Will Middleton Be the Center of Attention: A Preview of Boys Sectional Four

There are seven. There will be one. And we really only know anything about three. That, friends, is our boys sectional four preview in a nutshell.

The six who will by contending for a ticket to the state championships in Tosa are Beloit Memorial, Burlington, Central (formerly Westosha Central), Madison Memorial, Madison West, Middleton and Mukwonago.

The first of the three we know something about is Middleton. The Cardinals appear to have all the pieces in place for another deep run at state (they lost in last year's semis to Catholic Memorial). A key loss from that squad will be all-state setter Peter Wong, but they return 10 letter-winners and seven of eight from last year's rotation, including versatile 6'6" junior Michael Owen, who could contribute as an outside, setter or opposite. Senior Alex Harbour will bring his devastating serve and ability to hit from all three front row positions. Senior middle Dane Maier returned from a knee injury to play a key role in last year's state tournament and should have a strong senior season. Also look for junior middle Will Kraus and senior libero Casey Koenig to play huge roles.

Central is an up-and-coming team that will sneak up on many this season and pass more than a few of them. They're led by junior Jim Schultz and sophomore setter Dayton Erickson, who recently teamed with Catholic Memorial's Dan Caspar to win his age division at the Bradford Beach Jam.

Burlington has middle Harris Jorgenson, one of the best and most underrated players in the state, and if the Demons don't make it to Tosa, they'll certainly prove to be a very tough out. Jorgenson was first team all-southeast conference, all-Racine county. and honorable mention all-state. Another key contributor should be senior Kyle Ketterhagen, who was honorable mention all-southeast.

Madison Memorial, Madison West, Mukwonago and Beloit Memorial are proving to be ungooglable and our eyes are getting blurry trying to wade through various Volleyball Magazine discussion threads. We apologize for the incompleteness of this report. Help if you care to. Thanks.

Our prediction: Middleton over Central in five on Middleton's home floor.

Tomorrow: Boys Sectional Five

Will Memorial Have a Memorable November: A Preview of Boys Sectional 3

Welcome to day three of our 28-day tour through every boys and girls WIAA volleyball sectional. We're trying, we really are, to provide coverage that's fair and comprehensive, but we also know these previews are far from perfect. The good news is we can make corrections relatively quickly. Let us know what's what, and we'll improve, we really will, over time.

This sectional has six teams vying for a single ticket to Tosa: Catholic Memorial, Fort Atkinson, Kettle Moraine, Madison East, Madison La Follette and Waukesha West.

We're thinking it will probably be either CM, KM or WW, but YNK (as in, You Never Know).

Last year's Classic Eight player of the year Taylor Braun is gone, but Catholic Memorial remains the odds-on favorite to make it out of this sectional, having reached the state finals last year before losing to Milwaukee Marquette in four. Returnees include senior setter Ty Cobb (we don't make this stuff up) who racked up 20 assists in last year's finals, as well as sophomore libero Dan Caspar, who was second team all-Classic Eight and the recent winner of his age group at the Bradford Beach Jam.

Kettle Moraine returns junior setter Jim Mayenschein, who'll be feeding all-state senior Ean Reid. Other key contributors could include juniors Jonathan Tuttle and Mitch Rupp. The Lasers will be a solid group and might even repeat their success of last year when they took Catholic Memorial to five in the sectional finals.

Waukesha West lost a ton of talented players to graduation, including Joey Jonas and Alex Rohde, but they should still have enough firepower to make some serious noise in this sectional. If they do, it will no doubt be partially due to two returning "Dan's": junior defensive standout Dan Simon and junior Dan Jonas.

Madison East has a new coach, Tyler Cleveland, and a Web site that's nothing short of spectacular. Returning Purgolders include senior James Bartelt, sophomore Joe Toman and senior Tony Bolvin. Coach Cleveland is clearly looking to revitalize a program that "has not won a postseason game in nine years." They've even planned a t-shirt promotion for their home match against Fort Atkinson on September 11. Good stuff and worth supporting if you're in the Madison area.

We couldn't find enough on Fort Atkinson or Madison La Follette to say anything much, but we promise to keep googling if you promise to send us any insights you might have.

Our boys sectional three prediction: Catholic Memorial over Waukesha West in four on West's home court.

Tomorrow: Boys Sectional 4 (probably toward evening, but we'll try to get it up sooner)

Will Nic Be Celebrating on a November Night: A Preview of Boys Sectional Two

This is the second stop on our 28-day journey through every boys and girls WIAA volleyball sectional. We're trying our level best to provide coverage that's fair and comprehensive, but oversights and errors will occur. The good news is we can make corrections relatively quickly (unless we're out of town, which we are right now). In any event, let us know what we're missing, and we'll improve these posts over time. Thanks.

Your contestants are Arrowhead, Fond du Lac, Germantown, Homestead, Manitowoc Lincoln, Neenah and Nicolet. And all signs point to Nicolet and Homestead as your frontrunners.

For Nicolet, it clearly won't be easy to replace conference player of the year, Bobby Vranek, who led the Knights to the state quarters last season. Junior Anatoli Berezovsky will most likely handle setting again and super soph Matt Klingspohn should be a key contributor. He recently returned from Tucson where he played at the 2008 USA Volleyball High Performance Championships for the USA Select Gold team. Also look for key contributions from junior Robbie Mayer (2007 all-conference), as well as Derek Riebau, Andrew Allen and Erik Petersen. (And, yeah, we probably missed someone.)

Senior Zach Johnson leads a talented group of Homestead Highlanders that will most likely also include these four juniors: middle Brian Hoffman and outsides Eric Grothman, Patrick Jones and Matthew Savage. (And, yeah again, we probably missed someone.)

But we didn't miss nearly as many someones as we will for Hartland Arrowhead. What we know for sure is that the team lost five all-conference seniors. That alone was enough to convince us that Nicolet and Homestead should probably be considered front-runners in this sectional. Any insights into the makeup of Arrowhead's 2008 team will be greatly appreciated--and will also probably end up in this very post eventually.

Now back to the preview: Every year, three Fox Valley Association teams--Fond du Lac, Neenah and Manitowoc Lincoln--get grouped into this Milwaukee-area sectional and, once again, it probably won't make their lives easy.

Neenah will more than likely not have any '09s on their roster at all. They will, however, have a strong returning nucleus of sophomores and juniors that includes Alex Malesa, Ryan Roillard, Jon Zerrien, Ben Erickson, Jordan Nelson and Alex Thomsen.

Manitowoc Lincoln and Fond du Lac both had respectable seasons in the FVA and should have some nice moments this fall as well. Again, if anyone has any additional insights, don't hesitate to share.

Finally, there's Germantown. They're listed on the WIAA brackets, but there's no mention of boys volleyball on their school's site. Can anyone explain?

Our prediction for Boys Sectional 2: Nicolet over Homestead in four on Homestead's home court.

Tomorrow: Boys Sectional 3 (but it won't be until very, very, very late--sorry)

Will the K's Have It: A Preview of Boys Sectional 1

This is the first stop on our 28-day journey through every boys and girls WIAA volleyball sectional. We're trying our level best to provide coverage that's fair and comprehensive, but oversights and errors will occur. The good news is we can make corrections relatively quickly (unless we're out of town, which we will be this weekend). In any event, let us know what we're missing, and we'll improve these posts over time. Thanks.

Eventually, it will all come down to a single sectional final match to be contested at Appleton North High School on Thursday, November 6. That's when everyone will find out which of seven schools will play in the state tournament quarterfinals at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Wauwatosa. So will it be Appleton East, Appleton North, Appleton West, Green Bay Preble/East, Green Bay West/Southwest, Kaukauna or Kimberly?

The early buzz is that the K's will indeed have it, with either Kaukauna or Kimberly punching a ticket to Tosa. And who are we to argue? Both squads, together with 2007 state quarterfinalist Appleton North, were part of a three-way tie for the Fox Valley title.

Kimberly lost several to graduation, including all-staters Chris and Matt Seidl, and all-area setter Rob Beck. But they return a number of '09s, including 6'3" middle Mike McDermott.

Meanwhile, Kaukauna only lost two to graduation (one was all-state middle Ethan Van Cuyk). Returning Galloping Ghosts who should make a key contribution include seniors Ryan Heinritz (a powerful lefty) and Domenic Judkins.

Appleton North lost a premier outside in Parker Gross, but they return 6' 7" junior Mickey Flynn, whose 36 assists in last year's state quarterfinal almost propelled North over Tosa East. And 10 of those assists were dished out to then-junior Brad English.

Senior Bee Yang will presumably return to set for Appleton East, with the only other senior appearing to be outside hitter Tommy Moriarty. MB Noah Mader will be a junior worth watching.

We don't know enough about Appleton West, Green Bay Preble/East or Green Bay West/Southwest to say anything intelligent. At least not yet. If we get something, we'll add it to this post.

The last thing to mention about sectional one is that the light at the end of this particular "Ticket to Tosa" tunnel might be that of an oncoming train. You see, we believe the winner gets the thankless task of playing a quarterfinal match against the sectional seven winner (widely considered to be, no surprise here, Milwaukee Marquette).

Our prediction: Kaukauna over Kimberly in a five-game thriller, which would mark their 15th state tournament appearance.

Tomorrow: Boys Sectional 2