By Mike Ramczyk
MILWAUKEE – On Friday evening, the Burlington boys volleyball team finally lost a game in the 2014 postseason.
In fact, they lost the first two in a WIAA state quarterfinal against Middleton at Wisconsin Lutheran College.
That’s when first-year coach Kayla Uhlenhake implored her squad to wake up. After the match, she said they looked asleep on the court in first two games.
The Demons listened closely and responded with the energy of a team possessed.
Sparked by the at-times unstoppable hitting of Josh Ketterhagen, the middle effectiveness of Bryan Batchelor and an overall spark in attitude, hustle and volleyball I.Q., the Demons battled in games three and four before sailing in game five to complete an improbable 23-25, 24-26, 25-17, 25-23, 15-8 victory.
Burlington is now 17-11, and Middleton’s season ended at 24-8. The unseeded Demons will take on another underdog role Saturday morning at 10 a.m. against the state’s No. 1 team, Milwaukee Marquette, in a WIAA state semifinal at Wisconsin Lutheran College, 8800 W. Bluemound Road.
“We came back because we knew this was going to be our last chance to play together,” said the senior Batchelor. “We came together after the second game. We played as a unit and a well-oiled machine.
“When our offense can run on all cylinders, no team can stop us.”
That offense ran so well in part because setter Jacob Drettwan picked up his efficiency in game three. In games one and two, the Demons were hampered by errors. But Drettwan’s sets got crisper and more accurate, and it rubbed off on the team’s top weapon, Ketterhagen. The 6-foot-3 senior finished with 19 errors, most of which came in the first two games.
But he persevered for 28 kills, including several to help spark a game three turnaround. Ketterhagen and Tanner Swantz were rolling on offense and helped the Demons build 15-10 and 22-15 leads. Batchelor, who led the team with eight blocks, provided the middle defense to contain Middleton’s towering hitters Blake Sprecher and James Caldwell, who stand 6-foot-8 and 6-6, respectively.
What the Demons lacked in size, they made up with quickness and court savvy. Burlington consistently dug seemingly impossible hits, and its team communication helped cause numerous Cardinals’ 50-50 balls to drop slightly out of bounds.
The discipline carried over to game four, when the Demons fell in a 17-14 hole. After Uhlenhake called timeout, kills from Swantz and Tedman Yonash helped tie the score at 23-23.
Then, a long exchange that started with an impressive Middleton dig on a Ketterhagen hammer ended with the Demons’ outside force getting the last laugh with an emphatic kill. Up 24-23, Ketterhagen finished off the 11-6 run with another slam to tie the match at 2-2.
By game five, it was Ketterhagen’s serving that put the game away. Tied at 4-4, Ketterhagen’s 6-0 run, highlighted by a two-man block, a Swantz kill, and three Middleton hitting errors, sealed the win. The Cardinals never got closer than five points.
“I looked at Josh in that fifth game and said, ‘Get us to 10,’ and that’s exactly what he did,” Uhlenhake said. “We took great advantage of when 6 (Caldwell) was in the back row. That’s when we made our runs.”
“When you come back down 0-2 and win three straight games, it’s the best feeling in the world. It’s a confidence booster going into tomorrow.”
After a low hitting percentage of .091 in the first two games, the Demons adjusted nicely with an average of .283 in games three through five. Defensively, Burlington had 55 digs and 10 team blocks against a much taller Middleton squad. The Cardinals had three players 6-foot-6 or taller. After Batchelor, who stands 6-5, the rest of the Demons are 6-3 or shorter.
“We had an all-out effort on defense,” Uhlenhake said. “Eli (Miller), Zach (DeRosier), Zach Morrow and even Josh did a great job of communicating in the back row and not letting the ball drop without a touch on it.”
Swantz finished with 21 kills and added four blocks. Drettwan, who constantly put his hitters in good position with quality sets even off errant passes, totaled 64 assists. Zach DeRosier took charge defensively with 21 digs.
Drettwan said the Demons didn’t want the season to end after the bad start.
“We came out strong and upped our game as a team,” said the senior setter. “We’re feeling very confident about our game tomorrow against Marquette.”
“I feel like we have a very close team on and off the court,” Ketterhagen said. “We have a lot of trust in each other to perform.”
Senior Trent Cramer, playing his first season of high school volleyball, had a key kill in game four and was a vocal leader on the court.
“It was our biggest team win,” he said. “Being at state helped us push and never give up even though we got down.”
Marquette rolled over Wauwatosa East in the game prior to Burlington-Middleton by a score of 22-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-22.
Stephen Roenitz led three Hilltoppers in double figures in kills with 19. Drew Reilly added 17 and Austin Cox had 12 to lead the Marquette attack, which recorded a .257 hitting percentage for the match. Donald Foley assisted of 57 of the team’s 63 kills and had two aces.
“I saw their weaknesses today,” Uhlenhake said of Marquette. “Nobody is unbeatable. Our guys have all the confidence in the world for tomorrow. If we play like we did in games three through five, it will be a fight.”
-
-
-
-
-