MAYVILLE, Wis. — In a Wisconsin first, three high school volleyball teams took their game outdoors Tuesday night, serving up history on Mayville's football field.
The "Battle of the Marsh" featured an outdoor tripleheader between Mayville, Waupun and Horicon, marking the first time high school volleyball teams have played outdoors in the state.
"The seed was planted with Nebraska, but never once thought about actually doing it," said Alan Capps, Mayville volleyball head coach.
A timelapse of the court being built yesterday:
— Ashley Washburn (@ashleyjwashburn) August 26, 2025
Six hours of work in 30 seconds 🏐 pic.twitter.com/IA2SwHk6gO
That changed when Capps saw a high school team in Iowa play outdoors, sparking a conversation with his athletic director about bringing the concept to Wisconsin.
"I said, 'I got an idea.' And so I told him about this, and I said, 'Yeah, we're going to put this volleyball court on the field.' And he goes, 'You do realize I'm the varsity football coach,'" Capps laughed.
After 10 months of planning and six hours of labor, the outdoor volleyball court was ready for competition.
Watch: Mayville makes Wisconsin history with first outdoor volleyball match
The event drew packed stands typically reserved for Friday night football games, with the entire community turning out to witness the historic matches.
"My first two years, our varsity team has never beaten Waupun, and just to beat them in two sets here on the football field with the whole community watching, that was really cool," said Leah Vossekuil, Mayville junior middle blocker.
Celebrating volleyball's past
While creating history, the event also celebrated it. Mayville's 1973 inaugural volleyball team took center stage during the tournament.
"The '73 season was Mayville's first volleyball team, and what's fun is if you look at what happened in June of that year, that's when Title IX came out," Capps said.
Ruth Mamerow, a member of that pioneering 1973 team, reflected on how much the sport has evolved.
"The game has evolved totally from when we played. We served, you know, underhand. We, um, basically, it's totally different," Mamerow chuckled.
What hasn't changed is the rivalry among the three schools, something that has remained constant for decades.
The goal is for the Battle of the Marsh to become an annual outdoor volleyball tournament among these regional rivals, with Capps leaving the door open to potentially adding more teams in the future.
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