Fast And Furious! Wisconsin Alternate Postseason Begins Saturday
In a blink of an eye, the alternate season for volleyball will be starting it’s postseason which will be a week of the fastest route possible to a state champion. For most, even the ones involved in the alternate season,…
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Continue ReadingIn a blink of an eye, the alternate season for volleyball will be starting it’s postseason which will be a week of the fastest route possible to a state champion. For most, even the ones involved in the alternate season, it can be a little confusing. Here is a breakdown of what is going on in the next week where the Road To The Re—-Kaukauna (the host of the state championship matches).
Saturday, April 10 – Regional Groups/Pods
Teams will be playing matches in a pod of three or four. Coaches were able to seed the teams and will be playing at the top overall seed within the pod. For example, Stevens Point is the top overall seed in their pod and will host Superior, Eau Claire North, and Eau Claire Memorial. The winner of the pod will advance to the sectional pod which will be on Tuesday, April 10.
Tuesday, April 13 – Sectional Pods
The pod winners will then be reseeded within their section with the top seed hosting the final four of the section. Sectional semifinals will be played at 1:00 and 4:00 with the sectional final being at 7:00. The winner will advance to the final four.
Thursday, April 15 – Semifinals
Teams are once again reseeded #1-#4 and will play the semifinals at 4:00 or 7:00. The two designated sites are Beaver Dam and Kettle Moraine (. The winners will advance to the championship where both divisions will have their championship at Kaukauna.
Saturday, April 17 – State Finals
The Division 2 championship will be played at 1:00 while the Division 1 title match will be at 7:00. Kaukauna is no stranger to hosting championships, hosting the D2 Fall Season semifinals and finals while also hosting the state wrestling championships.
The Perspective In All of This
I am in a rare position where I see volleyball across the high school and club worlds across multiple states. Here is a quick look at some other states and what they did for their season/post-season.
Iowa – The season was relatively normal with a state tournament with 40 teams over the course of four days. Student sections were in masks, social distancing was encouraged, but they were able to have an arena style state tournament. However, there were teams with key players who were sitting out the state tournament due to quarantine protocol and one team who was a heavy favorite found out days before their match their whole team would have to drop – end of season.
Minnesota – Minnesota started their season late, tried to have a season, and with state laws shutting down gyms, teams were given a for sure “last day” of their season where there would be no post-season, just a final game for their athletes to play (if they were able to play, and not in quarantine). These athletes were unable to get into a gym for almost a month during December and January.
Illinois – The high school season is going on now, although I am unsure of what their postseason situation is currently. Most of these athletes were extremely limited in being able to get into a high school or club gym at all. If they were able to get into a gym, it was limited to extremely small training groups.
These athletes have been through a rollercoaster of emotions the past 13 months (And parents you’ve had a front row seat for all of it). Will they have a fall season? Will there be an alternate spring season? Will there be a chance to play for a championship?
We get to! I know the WIAA and Athletic Directors can have a thankless job where they are often at the scrutiny of so many throughout the state. Through schedule changes, monitoring practice protocols, more scheduling changes, officiating changes (and shortages), and more scheduling changes we have made it towards the finish line. These athletes get to play for hardware. It’s go time!
Division 1 – Top Seed in Each Pod
Section 1 – Top Seed and Host
Stevens Point
Sun Prairie
Holmen
DeForest
Highlight from my birthday match!! 😙🎉 pic.twitter.com/0k5XrPfoRG
— Ella Demetrician Ella Demetrician 6'2" | OH Appleton North | 2024 State #40 Nation WI (@ellademetrician) April 6, 2021
Section 2 – Top Seed and Host
Appleton North
De Pere
Pulaski
Green Bay Preble
Section 3 – Top Seed and Host
McFarland
Mount Horeb
Edgerton
Janesville Craig
Section 4 – Top Seed and Host
Whitewater
Racine Case
Oshkosh West
Manitowoc Lincoln
Division 2 – Top Seeds In Each Pod
Section 1 – Top Seed and Host
Washburn
Chequamegon
Gresham
Kewaunee
Section 2 – Top Seed and Host
Mayville
Campbellsport
Sevastopol
St. Marys Springs
Section 3 – Top Seed and Host
Riverdale
Cuba City
Bangor
Royall
Section 4 – Top Seed and Host
Abundant Life Christian/St. Ambrose
Laconia
Columbus
Brodhead