Luther High School was forced to forfeit its volleyball match against Arcadia. The Knights will no longer be able to claim a share of the conference championship because of the retroactive loss, which stemmed from an unintended eligibility violation.
It did not have an impact on the outcome at the time of the infraction.
However, the rules for high school volleyball (and all high school athletics) in the state of Wisconsin are clear. An athlete cannot enter the game unless he or she has been ruled eligible to participate, period! The circumstances do not matter.
Luther High School tried to do a nice thing.
Luther High School is a parochial located in Onalaska, Wisconsin. Established in 1957, it is directly affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and enrolls less than 250 students in Grades 9-12.
The Knights compete on the Division 3 level of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association as members of the Coulee Conference. Their girls volleyball team is one of the best in the region this season. It won 10 of its first 11 matches. Unfortunately, that total includes a win on Tuesday even though it no longer counts.
Luther defeated Arcadia fair and square. It also took the opportunity to give one of its star players a moment she would not forget. She suffered a knee injury that prevented her from competing in 2026. The Knights put her back to serve for one single point.
The injured player served the ball and presumably stood stagnant near the back line. She did not try to pass or hit. She only entered the game to serve and immediately subbed out after the play. The point went in favor of the Raiders.
However, the injured athlete was not cleared to play in the game. Not even to serve one time on one play.
The high school volleyball team was forced to forfeit.
Luther High School athletic director Dan Unke released the following statement. The Knights are required to forfeit their most recent win because they played an athlete who was not ruled eligible to compete.
“Following Tuesday evening’s volleyball contest against Arcadia, Luther High School discovered an unintended eligibility infraction and self-reported the violation to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA). As a result, Luther has been required to forfeit the contest.”
The win over Arcadia now counts as a loss. The loss completely changes the conference standings.
“The forfeit changes the conference standings, eliminating Luther’s opportunity to compete for a share of the conference championship in Thursday’s October 15 matchup against West Salem. The game will proceed as scheduled.
“The forfeit does not affect Luther’s postseason eligibility or playoff opportunities. Luther High School remains focused on preparing for the upcoming postseason and supporting its student-athletes as the season continues.”
Luther, at 10-1, was supposed to play undefeated West Salem on Thursday night for a chance to secure a chance of the conference title with a win. The forfeit drops its record to 9-2. The game on Thursday no longer matters. West Salem will win the conference — either at 12-0 or 11-1.
Unke told News 8 Now that the school decided to self-report its violation so that it did not derail the postseason. The Knights cannot win the conference but they can compete for a state championship.
“It was one of our student-athletes who has been recovering from a knee injury, that was not yet deemed eligible for participation. Our coaches were trying to give this student-athlete, who will miss the season, a special moment on the court, but didn’t think through all the ramifications of this decision. We self-reported so it won’t impact our team in the postseason,”
Luther will be a 2-seed in the upcoming Division 3 girls high school volleyball playoffs. Its first game is scheduled for Oct. 22 and it might be a rematch against Arcadia.