Waukesha Catholic Memorial sweeps Appleton North in WIAA State Boys Volleyball Tournament quarterfinal

Appleton North libero Landon Kue sets up a return during the Lightning’s
match against Waukesha Catholic Memorial in a quarterfinal match of the
WIAA State Boys Volleyball Tournament at the Resch Center in Green Bay
on Wednesday. (Photo by Paul Lecker/AppletonSportsPage.com)

Appleton North senior Nathan Ramus lines up a kill attempt in the Lightning’s
quarterfinal match against Waukesha Catholic Memorial at the
WIAA State Boys Volleyball Tournament at the Resch Center in Green Bay
on Wednesday. (Photo by Paul Lecker/AppletonSportsPage.com)

By Paul Lecker
AppletonSportsPage.com

GREEN BAY – Another great season from the Appleton North boys volleyball program ended Wednesday night as the Lightning were swept by Waukesha Catholic Memorial 3-0 in a quarterfinal match at the 2025 WIAA State Boys Volleyball Tournament at the Resch Center.

Catholic Memorial (27-9) neutralized North’s normal power game as the Lightning scored more than two points in a row just three times in the three-set match, and the Crusaders won 25-21, 25-18, 25-23.

Appleton North (34-8) hit at less than half its normal percentage – .266 during the season compared to .121 in Wednesday’s match – as the tall front line of Catholic Memorial finished with 16 blocks, knocking the Lightning out of rhythm throughout.

“I thought we played hard…it seemed like we were a step behind,” Appleton North coach Michael Maass said. “We could not get over the hump. We came close in Game 3, if we win that one, who knows what happens. We couldn’t quite get there, we were just a step slow tonight.”

The teams exchanged sideout points until Catholic Memorial got kills from Henry Newman and Matthew Goedheer to go up 15-12 midway through the first set.

A pair of kills by Appleton North’s Howard Guilbeault and a service ace from Owen Wick tied the match at 17-17, but the Crusaders responded with four points in a row to take command and finished off a 25-21 win on a Goedheer kill.

The second set went much like the first as the Lightning never led.

Five Catholic Memorial service errors kept the Lightning in it, but with the score tied at 10-10, the Crusaders pulled out three points in a row to pull ahead for good.

Two Nathan Ramus kills had North hanging around at 15-13, before Catholic Memorial ripped off five of the next six points. After an ace from Wick staved off match point for the third time, a North hitting error sealed a 25-18 win for the Crusaders.

With its season on the line, Appleton North led 17-15 in a back-and-forth third set. Samuel Kuehl had three kills and Wick added two as the Lightning tried to find a way to keep the match going.

Catholic Memorial turned to Newman, a 6-foot-6 senior, who slammed home three of his 12 kills in succession as the Crusaders went ahead 19-17.

North tied the match at 21-21 after a block kill by Ethan Eisenberg, and again at 23-23 following a kill by Ramus, but Catholic Memorial got a block kill and an ace from Braeden Bowes to end the match with a 25-23 win.

“They’re a really good team,” Ramus said. “We were playing hard, just a step behind the whole game. We couldn’t get into a rhythm and get some momentum going.

“It means everything, this is what you work for, to play in the state tournament,” added Ramus, one of six graduating seniors who were making their second-straight trip to state and third in four years. “It’s been a great ride and I’m glad I did it with these groups of people.”

Ramus and Kuehl each had 11 kills, Landon Kue finished with 17 digs, and Spencer Munson had 21 assists and nine digs for the Lightning. Click here for complete statistics, courtesy of the WIAA

Goedheer and Timmy Brayer also had 12 kills each, with Adam Serve leading the defense with 11 digs and setter Cayden Christianson dishing out 36 assists for the Crusaders.

Catholic Memorial will take on undefeated Middleton in a semifinal match at 2 p.m. Thursday. Germantown and Milwaukee Marquette will play in the other semifinal at the same time, with the winners meeting for the state title at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

2025 WIAA State Boys Volleyball Tournament
Nov. 5-7, at Resch Center, Green Bay
Wednesday, Nov. 5
Quarterfinals
No. 3 Milwaukee Marquette (21-12) 3, No. 6 Hartland Arrowhead (24-15) 0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-18)
No. 2 Germantown (39-5) 3, No. 7 Brookfield Central (26-11) 1 (25-17, 25-16, 31-29)
No. 1 Middleton (38-0) 3, No. 8 Kenosha Indian Trail (26-12) 0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-14)
No. 5 Waukesha Catholic Memorial (27-9) 3, No. 4 Appleton North (34-8) 0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-23)
Thursday, Nov. 6
Semifinals
No. 1 Middleton (38-0) vs. No. 5 Waukesha Catholic Memorial (27-9), 2 p.m.
No. 2 Germantown (39-5) vs. No. 3 Milwaukee Marquette (21-12), 2 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 7
Championship
7:30 p.m.