STATE VOLLEYBALL: Burlington drops heartbreaker in five games

GREEN BAY – A chilling mention came across my Twitter feed Thursday.

A Muskego girls volleyball supporter predicted the Warriors would beat the heavily-favored Burlington Demons Friday night in a Division 1 state semifinal at the Resch Center.

His exact quote was “It’s state. The best team doesn’t always win.”

The Burlington faithful, including the hundreds of fans who made the three-hour trip north on I-43, may have been left wondering if the better team actually won Friday night.

Depending on your definition of better, Muskego had the better night, storming back from a 2-0 deficit to win the final three games and punch a ticket to Saturday afternoon’s state championship game.

Muskego went on to lose in the championship to DSHA in five games.

It was the biggest upset of the state tournament so far, as the Demons have been ranked No. 1 or 2 in Wisconsin all season and had manhandled the Warriors in previous meetings.

The 21-25, 18-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-12 victory was the first for Muskego in three tries this season.

Burlington coach Teri Leach said it was the best she’s seen the Warriors play this year.

“We wish we could have game three back,” the co-coach said moments after the loss as the downtrodden Demons were cheered on by their contingent of fans. “Muskego played extremely well tonight, but we errored in games three, four and five. You have to execute. Tonight we didn’t.”

A packed crowd of parents, fans and students waited after the match in the Resch Center lobby to console the Demons. Players fought back tears moments after the game, as senior teammates Robyn Robers and Teagan Taylor shared a big, warm hug.

Taylor, the team’s libero and one of its vocal leaders, took solace in knowing she gave it her all.

“I left everything on the court,” she said. “We worked our butts off. We grew as a team, and we each grew as players.”

It was an uncharacteristic night for the Lady Demons. Leach said it was a rare occasion where multiple girls finished with negative hitting percentages.

Though Burlington cruised to victory in the first two games, behind stalwarts Quinn Spieker and Ali Rueter on the outsides. Burlington fought back from an early deficit in game to take a 9-8 lead. But Muskego stormed back to cling to a 23-20 lead. Leah Hofer’s kill cut Burlington’s deficit to 23-21, but Spieker’s final two hits were wide of the mark and Muskego won, 25-21.

In the third game, Muskego, desperate to extend its season, changed liberos and attacked the middle of the net much more effectively. Burlington had no answer, stayed away from the middle and was forced to the outside.

However, Spieker was off her game and finished the match with more errors than kills.

It was one of those games. One where even though the other team is hot, and you try everything to counter, your mistakes bury you and there’s no way out.

The Demons’ deficiencies continued the rest of the match. After hitting .310 and .242 in the first two sets, it closed out with .077, .097 and .056 in the final three sets. Leach said you can’t have multiple kids with negative hitting percentages and expect to win.

Errors aside, a decisive fifth game brought hope for the Burlington girls. But Muskego continued blocking everything in sight in game five and getting points on tip kills and outside stuffs.

The Warriors led, 8-1, but Burlington wasn’t ready to quit.

A Muskego ace had it at match point, 14-7, but kills from Hofer and Spieker and a big block by Phoebe Hozeska cut the lead to 14-12.

On the match’s final point, Spieker geared up for a montrous slam on the far left of the net off a strong Reba Thomsen set. But the Warriors, with 6-foot-4 middle blocker Sandra Mohr and teammates perfectly timing their blocks, rejected Spieker’s attempt.

The ball and Burlington’s season floated backward for what seemed like an eternity. Rueter dove head-first and extended her arm for the dig, but the ball landed inches in front of her nose. Rueter and several teammates lay motionless on the floor as the Warriors celebrated.

“We fought like we always have,” said senior Leah Hofer after the match. “It didn’t turn out in our favor, but we did all we could.”

“Muskego had great defense, and their offense was on fire…We’re a family. We win together and we lose together. I will miss being with my team. We’re staying overnight and having dinner together. We’ll be fine tomorrow.”

At the end of the day, it was another banner season for the Demons (42-4). They advanced to their fifth WIAA Division 1 state tournament in six years. They won the presigious Sprawl tournament, breezed to a Southern Lakes Conference victory and won a match at state.

Spieker signed on the dotted line to play at Division 1 North Carolina State in 2016.

With Robers, Taylor, Hofer, Sarra Webb and Lauren Pesick graduating, Burlington returns a ton of talent, including regulars Spieker, Rueter, Tay Lewis, Hozeska and setter Reba Thomsen.

“It’ll be awhile to get over this. It’s hard,” Leach said. “One match doesn’t define you or your season or your career. You keep your head up and know all of the success you had, all the effort you put in to get you to this point, paid off. Only one teams leaves happy at the end of it all. Unfortunately, it’s not us.”

This was another stepping stone on Burlington’s journey back to the pinnacle of state volleyball. With eight more state-caliber games of valuable experience under their belts, the Demons will no doubt be one of Wisconsin’s favorites to win it all next season.

A team full of driven, ambitious, hard-working winners, the Lady Demons set their bar high and have no qualms talking about what they need to do to succeed. You don’t see that every day in 15- and 16-year-olds, let alone adults.

With Leach and co-coach Dan Lynch spearheading the state’s best volleyball program, and Leach’s unwavering sacrifice and dedication (she’s in her early 30s with four kids, works and runs the Burlington club team), it’s not a question of if, but when, the Demons are once again hoisting that gold ball.

– Stay tuned to the Standard Press Sports Facebook page for more state photos, and pick up Thursday’s Burlington Standard Press for full coverage.