Appleton North girls volleyball smashes Franklin in Division 1 quarterfinal at WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament

Appleton North setter Emerson Van Lannen, left, and libero Maggie Hahnke, played key parts in the Lightning’s 3-0 sweep of Franklin in a Division 1 quarterfinal match Thursday afternoon at the WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament at the Resch Center in Green Bay. (Photos by Paul Lecker/AppletonSportsPage.com)

By Paul Lecker
AppletonSportsPage.com

GREEN BAY – Appleton North was making its fifth-straight trip to the WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament and the Lightning’s past experience was evident.

North jumped out to dominant leads early in the first two sets and cruised to a 3-0 sweep of Franklin in a Division 1 quarterfinal on Thursday afternoon at the Resch Center.

The third-seeded Lightning (33-7) won 25-16, 25-22, 25-15, to advance to the D-1 semifinals for the third year in a row against No. 2 seed Oconomowoc (40-3) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Oconomowoc, last year’s state runner-up, rolled past Burlington 3-0 in another quarterfinal match.

“I think relaxed is a great word for how we came in,” Appleton North senior Ella Demetrician said. “We weren’t too intense, too anything. From our experience, we tried to share with the other girls to try to prepare them. We came in calm and loose, and moved on from our mistakes early in the first set.”

Appleton North had its offense cooking early, using a 13-2 run to take a commanding 14-5 lead in the opening set and were never threatened.

Senior setter Emerson Van Lannen set up Ella Demetrician twice and Teegan Charapata another time to spark the run, that also included a pair of block kills by Maddy Walschinski and a service ace by Demetrician.

“I saw a team that went out and was very focused,” Appleton North coach Steve Scheuerell said. “We had a game-plan coming in, and to see our girls go out there and execute it at such a high level, I was very happy with the way we played. We kind of knew what we were able to do and we were able to do it.”

North was able to finish off a 25-16 win on kills by Demetrician and Kayden Lamon, and rolled into the second set looking confident.

Appleton North scored the first eight points of the second set on the serve of Charapata, who had two service aces in the run, and never looked back.

Franklin would get no closer than seven points from the lead the rest of the way as the Lightning continued their strong defensive and front-line play. Kills by Charapata and Van Lannen helped North finished on a 6-0 run to take the second set 25-11.

Van Lannen finished with 25 assists and eight digs, libero Maggie Hanke had a team-best 21 digs, Demetrician had 10 kills and Charapata seven to pace North.

“We prepared really well and I think that’s what kept us most relaxed,” Van Lannen said. “We utilized a lot of our players, not just one. We moved the ball around and we had a good offense.”

Appleton North scored four points in a row to take a 9-5 lead in the third set and Franklin never saw the lead again.

Lamon had a pair of kills in a 5-1 run later in the set, and Van Lannen had a four-point service run that helped finish off the 25-15 win and send the Lightning into the quarterfinals.

North lost two matches to Oconomowoc back in different tournaments in September, and in the Division championship match in 2021. Scheuerell said his team is ready for what’s ahead.

“They have a lot of the same type of players and the tradition of coming here, too,” Scheuerell said. “The first time we played them we were not ready, and our last match against them, again back in September, we went three with them and it as 13-13 (in the third set).

“We know they are going to be a tough team. It just has a little bit different feel this year. We’ve come here and we’re executing very well. We’ve talked about not letting the moment get too big, and if you’re struggling, embrace it rather than run away from it. We know they are going to score and push us, but we kind of look forward to that and we’re going to push right back.”

2023 WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament
Nov. 2-4, at Resch Center, Green Bay
Thursday, Nov. 2
Division 1 Quarterfinals
No. 2 Oconomowoc (40-3) 3, No. 7 Burlington (31-10) 0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-13)
No. 3 Appleton North (33-7) 3, No. 6 Franklin (29-15) 0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-15)
No. 1 Milwaukee Divine Savior Holy Angels (45-1) 3, No. 8 River Falls (26-14) 0 (25-12, 25-6, 25-11)
No. 4 Sussex Hamilton (31-11) 3, No. 5 Waunakee (38-9) 0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-12)
Friday, Nov. 3
Division 4 Semifinals
No. 1 Wonweoc-Center (29-2) 3, No. 4 Fall River (30-11) 2 (23-25, 17-25, 25-23, 29-27, 15-7)
No. 2 Wausau Newman Catholic (31-12) 3, No. 3 Prentice (33-9) 0 (25-21, 25-10, 25-15)
Division 3 Semifinals
No. 1 Howards Grove (30-4) 3, No. 4 Neenah St. Mary Catholic (30-5) 0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-19)
No. 2 St. Croix Falls (35-2) 3, No. 3 Cuba City (30-4) 1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-16, 25-10)
Division 2 Semifinals
No. 1 Appleton Xavier (43-3) vs. No. 4 Rice Lake (28-8), 2 p.m.
No. 2 Pewaukee (37-12) vs. No. 3 McFarland (35-10), 2 p.m.
Division 1 Semifinals
No. 2 Oconomowoc (40-3) vs. No. 3 Appleton North (33-7), 7:30 p.m.
No. 1 Milwaukee Divine Savior Holy Angels (45-1) vs. No. 4 Sussex Hamilton (38-9), 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 4
Championship Matches
Division 4: No. 1 Wonewoc-Center (29-2) vs. No. 2 Wausau Newman Catholic (31-12), 9 a.m.
Division 3: No. 1 Howards Grove (30-4) vs. No. 2 St. Croix Falls (35-2), 11:30 a.m.
Division 2, 2:30 p.m.
Division 1, 7:30 p.m.

2023 WIAA State Boys Volleyball Tournament
Nov. 2-4, at Resch Center, Green Bay
Thursday, Nov. 2
Quarterfinals
No. 3 Milwaukee Marquette (29-6) 3, No. 6 South Milwaukee (21-8) 0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-20)
No. 2 Hartland Arrowhead (38-5) 3, No. 7 Kettle Moraine (19-7) 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-20)
No. 1 Middleton (30-3) 3, No. 8 Union Grove (19-15) 0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-12)
No. 4 Kimberly (34-6) 3, No. 5 Waukesha South/North (34-8) 2 (23-25, 29-27, 20-25, 29-27, 15-10)
Friday, Nov. 3
Semifinals
No. 3 Milwaukee Marquette (29-6) vs. No. 2 Hartland Arrowhead (38-5), 5 p.m.
No. 1 Middleton (30-3) vs. No. 4 Kimberly (34-6), 5 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 4
Championship, 5 p.m.