Kenosha Indian Trail's hot start cools in boys volleyball state quarterfinal loss
GREEN BAY — Tyler Sioco said it was a blessing for the Kenosha Indian Trail boys volleyball team's season to end at the Resch Center.
The eighth-seeded Hawks (19-16) lost to No. 1 Sussex Hamilton 25-18, 25-18, 25-11 in Wednesday's WIAA state quarterfinal match.
The senior, who wasn't fully healthy when the teams played Sept. 21, had a team-high 10 kills in the loss.
"We're very deserving because we worked hard every single day, whether it was watching film, in the weight room or in the practice gym," Sioco said.
Sioco was one of six seniors who played his final match with the Hawks on Wednesday.
He entered high school wanting to play basketball and baseball but said he should've started playing volleyball sooner.
"Our senior class this year has gone through a lot of injuries and obstacles, but the strength that we have has shown, whether it's Ben (Johnson) singing the national anthems or Jack (Persson) getting us pumped on the bench, the perseverance our guys have shown is all throughout our program," Sioco said.
The Hawks opened the first set by scoring four straight points.
Kenosha Indian Trail coach Brian Sharkey said his team capitalized on the nerves Hamilton (37-4) showed to begin the match, forcing errors it doesn't usually make.
It was Hamilton's first state tournament appearance in school history.
"The first thing I noticed when walking into the gym was the bright lights when you're playing and the high ceiling made it weird to adjust," Hamilton senior setter Henry Mrotek said. "All the fans there for the other game made it hard to focus on ours."
Hamilton rebounded from the slow start to win the first set 25-18.
The Hawks found themselves ahead 7-3 early in the second set. However, Hamilton quickly responded with five straight points to regain control of the match. Kenosha Indian Trail had three errors during that span and finished the game with 22 errors. Hamilton proceeded to win the second set 25-18.
"I think they did a good job of staying disciplined on their block and with their defense," Sharkey said. "I thought we did a good job of serving them strong, but they still found ways to get a swing that we errored into or couldn't execute out of."
Hamilton closed the match with a dominating 25-11 third-set victory. Sophomore Cole McCoy led the team with 12 kills, while Mrotek had a team-high 33 assists.
The Chargers advanced to play No. 4 Germantown (36-9) in the state semifinals at 2 p.m. Thursday. Germantown defeated No. 5 Appleton North 30-28, 25-21, 25-17 in another state quarterfinal.
"I think what we've been able to do is make a name for ourselves, not just because of the talent we bring, but the culture," Sharkey said. "All 18 guys on our roster buy into their roles and shine at them."
