Eagles storm into sectionals

Call them giant killers. Goliath slayers. And be sure to call them regional champions. Sauk Prairie’s girls volleyball team just completed one of the greatest weeks in program history and will now be hosting a WIAA Division 1 sectional this week. Sauk Prairie, the No. 4 seed in its regional, toppled Watertown in a quarterfinal match on Oct. 20. The Eagles then traveled to top-seeded Oconomowoc and stunned the Raccoons in a regional semifinal last Thursday. In the regional finals Saturday, the Eagles ousted defending Division 1 state champion Hartland Arrowhead — a school 2 ½ times the size of Sauk Prairie — to win the regional title. “I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” Eagles coach Amy Schlimgen said. “Not only did they beat the defending Division 1 state champs (Arrowhead), but they beat last year’s Division 1 state runner-up (Oconomowoc).” Making the accomplishment even more impressive is Schlimgen was forced to stay home under quarantine, because an Eagles assistant coach was diagnosed with COVID-19. Ryan Ruhland, the junior varsity II coach, served as Sauk Prairie’s interim head coach with Schlimgen away. Schlimgen returned to practice Wednesday. The Eagles are now seeded No. 1 in their sectional and host fourth-seeded Slinger Thursday at 7 p.m. The winner there meets either second-seeded Fox Valley Lutheran or third-seeded Reedsburg Saturday. Sauk Prairie is trying to join the 2009 Eagles as the only teams in school history to reach the state tournament.  “The plan will be to take this one step at a time and focus on our next opponent,” Schlimgen said. The Eagles certainly did that during a thrilling week. Nothing was quite as exhilarating, though, as Sauk Prairie’s win over defending state champion Arrowhead. The Warhawks, seeded second in the regional, seemed to be peaking at the right time. But Sauk Prairie stunned host Arrowhead, 25-20, 25-15, 21-25, 25-22 to claim the regional championship. Sauk Prairie controlled play early and used terrific serving and defense to capture the first two games. Arrowhead likes to run its attack to a pair of 6-foot-3 middle blockers, but the Eagles were able to slow that down. “They were out of system for most of the first two sets because they couldn’t pass our serves very well,” Schlimgen said. “So, they couldn’t go to their two middle hitters like they like to, and when they did, our blockers were there to block or slow down the ball.” Arrowhead grabbed a big lead in the third game, then held off a late Eagles’ rally. Sauk Prairie then put the Warhawks away in the fourth game. Arrowhead held a 21-19 lead, but the Eagles finished on a 6-1 burst. Just like that, the defending state champs were done — and Sauk Prairie was off to sectionals. “It was awesome,” said Schlimgen, who’s in her second year with the Eagles. “I couldn’t be more proud of this team.” Sauk Prairie junior outside hitter Aida Shadewald led the way with 19 kills, six blocks, 14 digs, and 16 good serves, which included one ace. Olivia Breunig had 21 assists, 12 kills, 14 digs, two aces and a block. “Olivia was absolutely amazing and fun to watch with her skill and smart play and incredible placement of the ball,” Schlimgen said.  Alia Schlimgen and Kaitlyn Brickl both had 18 digs. Brickl added 26 good serves and three aces, while Schlimgen had nine good serves and two assists. Olivia Paukner had three kills, six blocks, and 14 good serves, which included three aces. Maggie Hartwig added two kills and five blocks, while Jenna Pistono had 11 assists, nine digs, 17 good serves and five aces.  Anni Braund added four kills and one block, while Alexis Klemm had six digs, two blocks and a kill. Just two nights earlier, the Eagles toppled mighty Oconomowoc — which had made four trips to state in the last five years. Sauk Prairie overcame a sluggish start, then rebounded to post a stunning 15-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-21 win. “Our defense was amazing,” Amy Schlimgen said. The Eagles got terrific performances from up and down the lineup. Alia Schlimgen was brilliant with 25 digs, three assists and one save. “She covered blocked balls like a magnet,” Amy Schlimgen said of Alia. Breunig also played at the top of her game with 10 assists, 12 kills, 15 digs, one ace and two blocks, while Shadewald had 14 kills, four aces and 17 digs. Paukner had four kills, one block and two aces, while Pistono had 11 assists, two aces and eight digs. Klemm had four kills and a block, while Brickl added 11 digs and 11 good serves. Hartwig added two kills and a block, while Braund had a kill. “I don’t know if Oconomowoc or Arrowhead had a lot of respect for us and we were probably kind of under the radar as far as a program goes,” Amy Schlimgen said. “That may change now.” The Eagles also cruised past fifth-seeded Watertown, 25-12, 25-19, 25-23 in a regional quarterfinal on Oct. 20. Shadewald had 13 kills, 14 digs, and reached 1,000 career kills. “She has a very bright volleyball future ahead of her,” Amy Schlimgen said of Shadewald. Breunig added 11 kills, 13 assists and seven digs, while Alia Schlimgen had 15 digs, three aces and two assists. Pistono had 10 assists, three aces, 16 good serves and nine digs, while Paukner had two kills, one ace and three blocks.  Braund had a big night with six kills and a block, while Hartwig had three kills and a block. Brickl had seven digs and an ace, and Klemm added four digs, two blocks and a kill. Now, it’s off to sectionals — and a chance for the Eagles to keep their memorable season going.   Oct. 24 WIAA Division 1 regional final SAUK PRAIRIE 3, HARTLAND ARROWHEAD 1 Sauk Prairie ...... 25 25 21 25 Arrowhead ........ 20 15 25 22 SAUK PRAIRIE (leaders) — Kills: Shadewald 19; Assists: Breunig 21; Aces: Pistono 5; Digs: Brickl, Schlimgen 18; Blocks: Shadewald 7. HARTLAND ARROWHEAD — Kills: LaFleur 13; Assists: Stefan 35; Aces: Illman Thompson 4; Digs: Lofy 14; Blocks: LaFleur, Krznarich 2.   Oct. 22 WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal SAUK PRAIRIE 3, OCONOMOWOC 1 Sauk Prairie .......... 15 25 25 25 Oconomowoc ......... 25 20 21 21 SAUK PRAIRIE (leaders) — Kills: Shadewald 14; Assists: Pistono 11; Aces: Shadewald 4; Digs: Breunig 10; Blocks: Klemm 1.   Oct. 20 WIAA Division 1 regional quarterfinal Sauk Prairie 3, Watertown 0 Watertown ............... 12  19  23 Sauk Prairie ............. 25  25  25 WATERTOWN (leaders) — Kills: Pugh 5; Assists: Roets 9; Aces: Stas 1, Roets 1, Pugh 1; Digs: Hickey 12; Blocks: Walsh 1.5. SAUK PRAIRIE — Kills: Shadewald 13; Assists: O. Breunig 13; Aces: Pistono 3; Schlimgen 3; Digs: Schlimgen 12; Blocks: Paukner 1.5.