Rally time

The home crowd was getting antsy. Head coach Amy Schlimgen was getting a little squeamish herself. Sauk Prairie’s girls volleyball team — a heavy favorite in its WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinal with Slinger — was in a dogfight last Thursday. The Owls had rebounded from a brutal first set, won the second set and held a 14-11 lead in the third set. Then the Eagles turned the entire match around. Sauk Prairie finished the third set on a 14-4 run to capture that vital set. The Eagles then scored the first eight points of the fourth set. The remarkable 22-4 run propelled Sauk Prairie to a 25-13, 23-25, 25-18, 25-20 win. The victory lifted the Eagles into the sectional finals and one win from their first trip to state since 2009. “We just had incredible energy during that stretch,” said Eagles’ senior captain Olivia Breunig. “It’s crazy. At the beginning of the season we didn’t even know if we’d get to play a whole year. And now, we’re playing amazing volleyball and thinking, ‘We can do this.’ ” Junior outside hitter Aida Shadewald agreed. “It’s just super exciting,” Shadewald said. “When we got moved into Division 1 this year, we weren’t sure how it was going to play out. But we’ve been able to step up and meet every challenge and we’re really balling out.” The Eagles certainly did that against a scrappy, but overmatched Slinger team. Sauk Prairie led, 13-10, in the first set, then finished on a 12-3 run for an easy victory. Junior middle hitter Olivia Paukner and Shadewald both had a pair of kills in the run, and junior libero Alia Schlimgen had the final five service points — including an ace — as the Eagles cruised home. Slinger fought back to win the second set and led midway through the third set when the Eagles embarked on their memorable rally. With Sauk Prairie in a 14-11 hole, Breunig had a kill and Paukner followed with consecutive aces to even the set, 14-14. Slinger rebounded with two straight points, but Sauk Prairie answered with a 6-0 run that included five straight service points by sophomore setter Jenna Pistono. The Owls had three hitting errors in that stretch and Shadewald had a huge kill as the Eagles surged to a 20-16 lead. Slinger closed within 20-18, but Breunig had a kill to earn a sideout, then Shadewald served the final four points. Breunig had another kill during that run, Shadewald dialed up a pair of aces, and Slinger had a hitting error to end the set. “It looked like we really started to get our confidence going,” Amy Schlimgen said. “They believe in each other and we’ve gotten a lot stronger mentally the last two years. That’s been big.” The Eagles had a big start to the fourth set, as well, racing to an 8-0 lead behind the serving of senior defensive specialist/libero Kaitlyn Brickl. During the run, Brickl had two aces, Shadewald, Paukner, Olivia Breunig and junior outside hitter Makenzie Breunig all had kills and Slinger had a pair of hitting errors. “That was key,” Amy Schlimgen said of starting the fourth set strong. “In my mind, I’m thinking, ‘I don’t want this to go to five.’ But then the girls took control with those first eight points. That was so important and a momentum killer for the other team.” By the time Slinger forced a sideout, the Eagles had capped their 22-4 run and were in total control of the match. “We’re just having so much fun,” Olivia Breunig said. “Hopefully, we can keep it going.” Slinger battled back and closed within 24-20. But the Owls’ early deficit was too much to overcome, and Sauk Prairie finished the match after a Slinger hitting error. “Slinger was really scrappy and we just had to match their scrappiness,” Shadewald said. “We took it as a challenge and we were able to handle it. This is all just super exciting.”   Slinger .......... 13 25 18 20 Sauk Prairie .. 25 23 25 25 SLINGER (leaders) — Kills: Johnson 9; Aces: Johnson 5; Digs: Gillen 11. SAUK PRAIRIE — Kills: Shadewald 19; Assists: Pistono 20; Aces: Paukner 4; Digs: Schlimgen 19; Blocks: Hartwig 4.