Posted: Nov. 6, 2009 |(0) Comments

Nicolet boys volleyball coach Brad Kuehl respects and understands his team well enough that they know what he meant a few weeks ago, when he essentially threw them under the bus verbally for a lack of effort after a dispiriting loss to defending state champion Marquette.

The point he made to them was that they can raise their level of play anytime they want. It's just a matter of making it happen.

And that's what the Knights did in a spirited 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 WIAA sectional final win over Homestead last Thursday night that earned them their third straight WIAA State Tournament berth.

"They trust me, and they get it," he said. "So that allows me to speak very frankly with them. They understand what I'm trying to say to them."

Because the players themselves understood what happened that night.

"What you saw out there (against Marquette) was not our real face," said senior outside hitter Rob Mayer. "It was a little embarrassing."

Team's goal a state title

The Knights will now play Appleton North in a WIAA state quarterfinal match at Wisconsin Lutheran College on Friday. Nicolet was the state runner-up last season to that same Marquette team but Kuehl said that there are rough obstacles ahead before the Knights can get to a potential title rematch with the Hilltoppers.

"But everyone knows that's our ultimate goal," he said.

"We want a state championship for sure," senior setter Anatoli Berezovsky said. "But we take it one game at a time. We're getting there. We're for sure getting there."

For Berezovsky and Mayer, both seniors who have been playing on varsity since their freshmen year, the question is: Would it take a state championship in order to view this season as an overall success?

"Yeah, I would say so," Mayer said. "We definitely want to improve on last year and (the only way to do that is to) win a state championship."

Kuehl is looking at the bigger picture.

"I wouldn't say it's a championship or bust year," Kuehl said. "Nicolet volleyball has bounced back no matter what. But our goal was to win it all this year. There are a lot of good teams left to play, but we have a good road and a good chance, and we just have to finish and do it."

Homestead a tough out

To get that opportunity, the Knights needed to beat Homestead in front of a loud crowd at Germantown.

They had overpowered the Highlanders during the regular season but the senior-dominated Homestead squad hung with the more experienced Knights throughout the sectional final.

A 6-1 run in the middle of the first game gave the Knights a lead, but it took a 3-0 effort after the Highlanders had tied the score at 21-all and a deftly placed kill by senior outside hitter Matt Klingspohn to put the game away.

In the second game, the Highlanders, behind athletic middle blocker Brian Hoffman, took a 6-2 lead and held the advantage until a 9-3 burst by the Knights made it 19-15. Homestead could not get within three after that as Klingspohn and sophomore middle hitter Dan Mulcahy both came up big.

It was a similar scenario in game three. A 6-1 run made it 11-7 Nicolet, but the Highlanders would rally for ties at 15, 18, 20 and 22-all. Key efforts by junior middle hitter Steve Ellmaurer and Berezovsky allowed the Knights to take a 24-22 lead and after a Homestead kill by Tony Bichler, Klingspohn again put the match away with a kill that rattled around the Highlanders' side for several hits before bouncing into the crowd.

"We knew that we had to raise the intensity level," said Berezovsky, who had missed some action down the stretch with an illness.

Lack of experience hurts

Homestead coach Todd Lyon was pleased with the effort of his squad.

"We had some talent, and we pulled it together at times this season, but I think a lack of big-time experience hurt us on some of those 50/50 balls," he said. "Brian (Hoffman) played a great match. He's been our 'go-to' guy all season.

"I just couldn't be unhappy with the effort," Lyon said. "The only way I could be happier is if we won."

"This was a fun match," added Kuehl. "I knew that this would be nothing like the regular season match (an easy Nicolet win). The sectional final is the toughest match of the season. They have all those seniors (Hoffman, Matt Savage, Will Ault, Patrick Jones and Erik Gorthman), and I knew that they would be playing very hard. Even on that last point, everyone was flying all over the place."

In the end, the win was a big relief for Kuehl, who said that when Berezovsky got back, the Knights were out of their funk.

"We didn't have him for the loss to Tosa East (which came right after the Marquette match), but we had him when we scrimmaged those guys (East) again a few days later," Kuehl said. "It was much better and it gave them confidence. They realized that anything can happen and that they have to play big every time.

"Anatoli's been the leader of this team for three years," Kuehl said. "He was voted as a captain as a sophomore, which is almost unheard of. He's really the one who's taken everything, the bull by the horns, and led these guys. Having him out there is like having another coach out there."

Which gives the Knights another chance at an elusive state championship.

"It would be unbelievable," Mayer said.

 

- With additional reporting by Paul M. Imig

A familiar field

Seven of eight teams return to state volleyball championships as Knights face newcomer North

WHAT: WIAA State Boys Volleyball Tournament

WHEN AND WHERE: Friday and Saturday, Wisconsin Lutheran College, 8800 W. Blue Mound Road, Milwaukee

FRIDAY QUARTERFINALS (state poll ranking)

• Appleton North (receiving votes) vs Nicolet (sixth), 5 p.m.

• Kettle Moraine (eighth) vs. Middleton (third), 5 p.m.

• Marquette (first) vs. Wauwatosa East (ninth), 7:30 p.m.

• New Berlin (second) vs. Racine Horlick (receiving votes), 7:30 p.m.

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

semifinals at noon

championship at 5:30 p.m.

WIAA SECTIONAL SEMIFINALS

Held Nov. 3

Nicolet defeats Neenah, 25-13, 25-12, 25-18 (Mayer 11 kills, Berezovsky 22 assists and Patrick Bieser eight digs);

Homestead defeats Arrowhead, 25-16, 21-25, 17-25, 25-20, 15-9 (Hoffman 20 kills and five blocks, Will Ault 36 assists, Tyler Wiedenhoeft 21 digs, and Matt Savage three aces).

Quote: "We really learned how to compete at a high level in this match." - Todd Lyon, Homestead head coach