Brookfield Central boys volleyball team finishes outstanding season

This year's varsity Brookfield Central boys volleyball team saw the Lancers within one game of the state tournament for the first time since 2002.

Coach Ken Nash's team won three invitational and seven dual meets during the regular season before losing to Wauwatosa East in the sectional finals.

The Lancers were second in conference, their highest finish in the Greater Metro Conference under Nash, ranking as high as second in the state, the highest ranking for a Central boys volleyball team.

Central was second in conference play with a 4-1 record and 7-1 overall, beating Marquette University High School for the first time in history.

In the invitational season, they finished in the championship bracket in every tournament. The Lancers won three invites (West Allis Central, Arrowhead and Whitefish Bay) and placed second at the Shorewood Invite, beating second-ranked Burlington in pool play. They did not place lower than fifth at the other three invites they were in.

Their match record was 34-7 and they were ranked No. 2 in the sectional, the highest seed in the past 10 years.

Here is a look at some of the key players and their stats for the season.

Billy Brauer (226 kills, 58.5 blocks), Luke Sommerfeld (215, 29 aces, 28 blocks), Tanner Swan (212 kills, 145 digs, 45 aces, 28.5 blocks), James Keuper (183 kills, 55.5 blocks) and Nate Leitermann (142 kills) were the kill kings.

Andrew Dusing (880 assists, 23 aces, 145 digs, 36.5 blocks), Jeff Thurston (319 digs), Chase DuChateau (98 digs) and Andrew Shea (42 kills, 74 digs) were also impressive.

The Lancers will lose nine seniors: Brauer, Dusing, Keuper, Leitermann, Shea, Swan, Thurston, Blake Markstein and Jared Schmidt.