Sauk Prairie spikers 5th at Badger Conference

The postseason is just about here. And Sauk Prairie’s girls volleyball is hoping to pick up its play down the stretch. The Eagles hosted the Northern Badger Conference meet last Saturday and began the day in fifth place in the league. Sauk Prairie took fifth place again at the league meet, but actually slipped to sixth place overall based on points accumulated during the season and at the conference tournament “We were hoping to upset a couple of teams ahead of us in the standings, but only ended up beating one of them,” Eagles’ coach Amy Schlimgen said. Beaver Dam defeated Sauk Prairie to begin the day, 25-14, 25-27, 15-7. Aida Shadewald led Sauk Prairie with 10 kills and two aces, while Olivia Breunig had seven kills and eight assists. Jenna Pistono had five assists and 12 digs, while Olivia Paukner and Lauren Wideen each added two kills. Ainsley Apel had 14 digs and Kaitlyn Brickl had eight digs. DeForest then edged the Eagles, 25-23, 25-20. Shadewald had eight kills and several terrific serves, while Breunig had seven kills and six assists. Paukner had three kills, Hannah Kruckman had two kills and Apel added six digs. Sauk Prairie then defeated Baraboo, 25-17, 25-21. Breunig had nine kills and nine assists, while Shadewald had seven kills. Apel had 13 digs, Brickl had five digs and a perfect serve percentage in 10 attempts, Pistono had seven assists and three digs. The Vikings then edged Reedsburg for fifth place on the day, 25-22, 19-25, 15-2. “We enjoyed a sweet win with a very big finish,” Schlimgen said. “One of our goals recently was to finish a match strong and we certainly did that during that last match of the day.” Shadewald led the way with 16 kills and seven digs, while Breunig had eight kills and 18 assists. Paukner had six kills and two aces, and Wideen had three kills. Apel had 16 digs and three aces, Brickl added six digs and Pistono added nine assists. Sauk Prairie also defeated Baraboo, 25-15, 25-22, 25-19 in a conference match last Thursday. “The girls played great,” Schlimgen said. “We blocked them better than we have blocked all year as a whole! It was very encouraging.” Girls volleyball BADGER NORTH CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT Tournament standings: 1, Waunakee; 2, Mount Horeb; 3, DeForest; 4, Beaver Dam; 5, Sauk Prairie; 6, Reedsburg; 7, Portage; 8, Baraboo. Conference dual-meet records: Waunakee 7-0; Beaver Dam 5-2; DeForest 5-2; Mount Horeb 4-3; Reedsburg 4-3; Sauk Prairie 2-5; Baraboo 1-6; Portage 0-7. Final conference standings: Waunakee 14 points; DeForest 10; Mount Horeb 10; Beaver Dam 9; Reedsburg 6; Sauk Prairie 5; Baraboo 1; Portage 1. Championship: Waunakee def. Mount Horeb, 21-25, 25-18, 15-8. Third place: DeForest def. Beaver Dam, 22-25, 25-21, 15-12. Fifth place: Sauk Prairie def. Reedsburg, 25-22, 18-25, 15-2. Seventh place: Portage def. Baraboo, 17-25, 25-21, 15-13. Semifinals: Waunakee def. Beaver Dam, 25-15, 25-22; Mount Horeb def. DeForest, 26-24, 25-16. Pool A: Waunakee 3-0; Mount Horeb 2-1; Reedsburg 1-2; Portage 0-3. Waunakee: Def. Portage, 25-16, 17-15; def. Mount Horeb, 26-24, 25-8; def. Reedsburg, 25-15, 25-14. Mount Horeb: Def. Portage, 28-26, 25-23; def. Reedsburg, 23-25, 25-14, 15-2... Reedsburg: Def. Portage, 25-15, 25-21. Pool B: DeForest 3-0; Beaver Dam 2-1; Sauk Prairie 1-2; Baraboo 0-3. DeForest: Def. Sauk Prairie, 25-23, 25-20; def. Baraboo, 25-17, 25-14; def. Beaver Dam, 25-20, 21-25, 23-21. Beaver Dam: Def. Sauk Prairie, 25-14, 23-25, 15-7; def. Baraboo, 27-25, 25-12. Sauk Prairie: Def. Baraboo, 25-17, 25-21.