Live updates from the WIAA girls and boys state volleyball tournaments: Arrowhead, Marquette lead off with sweeps

The WIAA girls and boys state volleyball tournaments run Thursday through Saturday at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon. Follow our live updates from Thursday's quarterfinal action, which features eight games and 11 Milwaukee-area teams overall.

For the full schedule, go to wiaawi.org.

Thursday schedule, results

Boys quarterfinals

No. 2 Arrowhead (38-5) def. No. 7 Kettle Moraine (19-17), 25-19, 25-20, 25-20

No. 3 Marquette (29-6) def. No. 6 South Milwaukee United (21-8), 25-13, 25-13, 25-20

Girls Division 1 Quarterfinals, 1 p.m.

No. 2 Oconomowoc (39-3) vs. No. 7 Burlington (31-9)

No. 3 Appleton North (32-7) vs. No. 6 Franklin (29-14)

Boys Quarterfinals, 4 p.m.

No. 4 Kimberly (33-6) vs. No. 5 Waukesha South/North (33-7)

No. 1 Middleton (29-3) vs. No. 8 Union Grove (19-14)

Girls Division 1 Quarterfinals, 7 p.m.

No. 1 Divine Savior Holy Angels (44-1) vs. No. 8 River Falls (26-13)

No. 4 Sussex Hamilton (30-11) vs. No. 5 Waunakee (38-8)

A Classic 8 showdown as Arrowhead sweeps Kettle Moraine to advance

They hadn't seen each other since Sept. 23 at the Middleton Invite, but Thursday to kick off the WIAA boys state volleyball tournament was more of the same in No. 2 seed Arrowhead's three-set sweep against No. 7 Kettle Moraine.

The 2022 state runner-up Warhawks took care of their fellow Classic 8 Conference member in a 25-19, 25-20, 25-20 sweep to move on to Friday's semifinals against No. 3 seed Marquette, which made quick work of No. 6 South Milwaukee United.

Whenever things appeared to get tight, the Warhawks loosened up.

Kettle Moraine trimmed a 20-13 advantage to 20-18 in the opening set before Arrowhead closed it out. The Lasers took an 18-17 lead in the second set, then Arrowhead took eight of the final 10 points. Kettle Moraine tried to force a fourth set with a 17-13 lead in the third, but Arrowhead won 12 of the final 13 points to take the match.

"I don't know what it is," Arrowhead coach Dennis Mechenich said. "I don't think there's one thing. These guys, they're gonna bend because we play good teams all season long, but we just don't break. These guys know when the pressure's on. They just need to find someone that's going to get our bench excited and someone that can score a big point for us."

Three Warhawks had at least nine kills in the victory, led by senior Ethan Dassow's match-high 13. Charlie Andorfer and Luke Heberlein each chipped in with nine apiece.

For the 2020 state champion Lasers, a rollercoaster of a season came to a close, but there was a sense of pride from coach Elliott Van Dyke as one of the three Classic 8 representatives in the eight-team tournament.

"We're at a different level, I think, a lot of the time," Van Dyke said.

"It's definitely scary," Ethan Hoffert added. "I think it prepares us a lot to be in such a tough conference. We play in a lot of these high-level teams and I think like Coach (Van Dyke) said, we have three teams from our conference at state. We see a lot of high-level competition right away."

The Lasers lost five of their final seven matches in the regular season but found their way through Fort Atkinson and then defeated Wilmot and Westosha Central, the two top seeds in the sectional, to make it to Thursday's quarterfinals.

Ten-time state champion Marquette opens state tournament play with a sweep over South Milwaukee United

Led by a tournament-record eight service aces in a three-set match from senior Miles Von Rueden, the Marquette Hilltoppers cruised into another showdown this season with No. 2 Arrowhead after a 25-13, 25-13, 25-20 victory over No. 6 South Milwaukee United.

The Hilltoppers had a state team-record 14 aces for a three-set tournament match. while Jack Fitterer led the match with 25 assists, Von Rueden had a team-high eight kills, and Thomas Schmidt and Aidan Del Fava each chipped in six kills.

"This is what Miles does," Marquette coach Jake Cosson said. "He's been doing it on this stage since he was a sophomore. He's comfortable back there. He's got all the shots. It's what makes him one of the top players in the state. To have a weapon like that is really special."

The Hilltoppers and Warhawks were complimentary of each other before Friday's rubber match. The two elite programs have had two wins each in their four previous matchups this season and the fifth meeting will decide one-half of the state championship matchup Saturday.

"It starts with Dennis (Mechenich)," Cosson said. "He does a great job. He's got an unbelievable program. They've got a ton of kids that play club, so they're playing volleyball all year round, but Dennis has a way of doing things and he does things the right way. They play the right way. I got a ton of respect for him and these boys play with and against them in club. There's a lot of mutual respect."

"They're a great team," Arrowhead right-side hitter Ethan Dassow said. "They're just so dynamic. They don't make very many mistakes really. They have a great setter in Jack Fitterer. He runs their offense so quickly and I mean, it's just so difficult to get a block up and be disciplined with him because he can set the ball anywhere. They have some great servers like Miles Von Rueden. They all serve super aggressively and super tough.

"It makes it difficult to pass a two or better and then being out of system, then they put up a block. It's really good that we've seen them four times already this year and having experiences and kinda knowing what we're getting into. They're a great team and it'll be a great game."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Live updates from WIAA volleyball state tournaments