ASHWAUBENON, Wis. — Hundreds of Grafton fans packed the Resch Center Friday morning to watch their Black Hawks compete in their first-ever Girls State Volleyball tournament appearance.
The electric atmosphere culminated in a four-set victory over Waupaca (25-18, 25-19, 26-28, 25-21), sending Grafton to Saturday's state championship game.
Eight buses full of Grafton students made the trek to Green Bay to support their team, part of a record state semifinal crowd of 4,353.
"They're playing awesome. This is great!" said Olivia Ruff, a senior at Grafton High School who was among the student supporters.
The Black Hawks dominated the first two sets before Waupaca fought back, forcing a fourth set. Throughout the match, the Grafton student section grew louder with each point.
Watch: Grafton girls volleyball fans create electric atmosphere for semifinal win
For Paul Marti, whose daughter Abby is a middle blocker on the team, the experience was deeply meaningful.
"It's something I hope every high school athlete gets to experience in their career," Marti said. "It's unparalleled to anything else in sports."
After the match, many fans rushed back to Grafton, a roughly 90-minute drive from the Green Bay area, for the football team's playoff game. That group included the football team, who also came to support their friends.
The state championship game is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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