The dream lives on

What a long, strange trip it’s been for Sauk Prairie’s girls volleyball team. The journey will continue for at least one more week as the Eagles secured their first state tournament appearance since 2009 with a 26-24, 25-23, 20-25, 25-19 victory over visiting Appleton Fox Valley Lutheran in a WIAA Division 1 sectional final last Saturday night. “It means so much. I can’t believe that we actually did it,” Sauk Prairie senior co-captain and defensive specialist Kaitlyn Brickl said. “We’ve always had the talent, but the mental part this year is just so off the charts. We’re so together as a team. All the hard work has paid off, and it means so much.” After being tagged as giant killers when the postseason began, a fourth straight four-set victory has Sauk Prairie in position to compete for its first-ever state title. “My emotions have been all over the place. It’s been really, really emotional the whole year,” Eagles’ coach Amy Schlimgen said. “This team, they really believe in each other. “I’ve got a couple of senior captains (Olivia Breunig and Kaitlyn Brickl), who have just been fantastic leaders. They’re so positive.” It was a memorable evening even before the first serve as two players returned from a COVID-19 quarantine, and sophomore hitter Kaya Wilson celebrating her birthday. The best was yet to come, though, as junior outside hitter Aida Shadewald led the way with 20 kills and 23 digs, while senior setter/outside hitter Olivia Breunig recorded 23 assists, 15 kills and 15 digs to help Sauk Prairie earn its second state appearance and first in Division 1. Sauk Prairie lost in the Division 2 state semifinals in 2009. “It’s amazing. We’ve worked so hard for this,” Shadewald said. “We’ve overcome so much, and gone through so much adversity. It means a lot. This is just proving to ourselves exactly what we could do.” Fourth-seeded Sauk Prairie (23-5) will face top-seeded Sussex Hamilton (16-1) in a Division 1 state semifinal at Wisconsin Rapids High School on Saturday at 1 p.m. The winner will meet second-seeded River Falls (12-0) or third-seeded Burlington (15-0) in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. “It’s really surreal,” Olivia Breunig said. “The whole year has been surreal. Not having last year’s spring season and then everything being up-in-the-air for this season, I’m just super thankful to be playing. “It’s crazy to think we’ve made it this far, and I’m just so proud of our team to push through everything we’ve had to get here.” That started with arguably the toughest regional in the state. Sauk Prairie, which has won 14 of its last 15 matches, eliminated both teams from last year’s Division 1 state championship match — Hartland Arrowhead and Oconomowoc — in regional play.  Sauk Prairie was set to compete in Division 2 until many large schools opted out of the fall season due to the pandemic, which moved both the Eagles and Fox Valley Lutheran up a division. “I set up this beautiful Division 2 schedule. I was so happy with it,” coach Schlimgen said. “I had something for us every Saturday, Waterloo and Lakeside Lutheran and Platteville. I had no idea we’d be put in Division 1. I should have thought about it with all the giant schools opting out, but it never crossed my mind.  “Then we get put in probably the toughest regional in the whole state. We took it one game at a time. It’s an old saying, but we had to do it. It was something I preached at (Wisconsin) Heights for 20 years, just one game at a time, one step at a time and see what happens.” Sauk Prairie got off to a great start in the first set, opening up a 23-17 lead, forcing the Foxes to call a time out. Fox Valley Lutheran (14-3) rallied to forge a 24-24 tie. But the Foxes’ ensuing serve went out of bounds, and Olivia Breunig followed with the winning kill for a 26-24 victory. Lutheran jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second set and used a late 5-2 surge for a 25-24 lead. But Olivia Breunig tied the score with a kill and then delivered one of her team-high three service aces before sophomore setter Alexis Klemm secured the set victory with a kill. Coach Schlimgen said Breunig’s transition from full-time setter as a freshman to a setter/hitter role as a senior has played a key role in the Eagles’ success. “As a freshman, they only wanted her to be a setter. But when I got here last year, I said, ‘no, she’s our second-best hitter, she’s got to hit,’ ” Schlimgen said. “She has been so calm and collected and is such a leader. You can see it on the floor.” Schlimgen said there was no secret on how the Eagles won the first two sets, which included several long rallies going the Eagles’ way.  “That’s how we beat Arrowhead, with serving and defense,” Schlimgen said. “We figured this would be the same thing.” The Foxes bounced back to win the third set 25-20. “It took us a while to adjust,” Fox Valley Lutheran coach Wendy Bixby said. “We played an incredibly scrappy team on Thursday in Reedsburg. Then to make the switch to an incredibly talented team in Sauk Prairie was quite a jump. “We knew what we were going to be up against. They’ve got some incredible hitters.” Coach Schlimgen said the Foxes’ rally wasn’t a surprise. “That’s happened to us before,” Schlimgen said. “We get a little comfortable and play off a little, but thank God they just kept staying focused because we’ve done it too many times over the last two years. You get a nice lead or you win a set, then you think the rest is going to be easy. They’ve learned that too.” Sauk Prairie opened up a 22-15 lead in the fourth set, before Lutheran pulled within 22-18. Junior middle hitter Olivia Paukner’s tip kill set the stage for Shadewald to slam home assists from Olivia Breunig to end the match and set off a socially distanced celebration. “Again, we went four sets,” coach Schlimgen said. “We’ve gone four sets in all four postseason matches both regionals and both sectionals. But it’s better than going five. “I don’t know why we couldn’t stop their outsides better. We’ll have to figure that out this week.” Junior libero Alia Schlimgen finished with a team-high 34 digs to anchor the Eagles’ determined defense. Sophomore setter Jenna Pistono added 21 assists and 10 digs. Paukner led the Eagles with a team-high seven block assists and had five kills. Sophomore middle hitter Anni Braund chipped in with seven kills and six digs. Klemm finished with five digs and two kills, and Brickl added nine digs and two service aces. With a trip to state on the line, Shadewald admitted she was focused on finishing off the Foxes for good in the fourth set. “That’s something I take a lot of pride in,” Shadewald said. “Set me the ball, not in a selfish way, but I want the ball. I want to finish the game. That’s something we have this year as a team, that mentality that we didn’t have last year.” Olivia Breunig agreed. “Towards the end it’s definitely a bigger itch, I want to be the one to put the ball down,” said Breunig, who also had three block assists. But anyone who gets to it, I have confidence and trust every single one of the girls to put it down.  “We just get super excited for each other. The final play that Aida made was amazing. She’s just an awesome outside hitter and was the one who was constantly on for us. She’s been a powerhouse for us.”   Oct. 31 WIAA Division 1 sectional final SAUK PRAIRIE 3,  FOX VALLEY LUTHERAN 1 Fox Valley  …......  24  25 25 19 Sauk Prairie .....… 26 27 20 25 APPLETON FOX VALLEY LUTHERAN (leaders) — Kills: Cassie Patchett 14; Assists: Holly Malcowski 37; Aces: Mickenzi Benter 4; Digs: Kennedy Schmitz 32; Blocks: Lydia Feidt 2. SAUK PRAIRIE — Kills: Aida Shadewald 20, Olivia Breunig 15; Assists: Olivia Breunig 23, Jenna Pistono 21; Aces: Olivia Breunig 3; Digs: Alia Schlimgen 34; Aida Shadewald 23; Blocks: Olivia Paukner 7.