Eagles spikers drop a pair

It was a rough week for Sauk Prairie’s girls volleyball team. But there were several encouraging moments, as well. Northern Badger Conference leader Waunakee downed Sauk Prairie, 21-25, 26-24, 25-15, 25-19, last Tuesday. DeForest then edged the Eagles, 25-21, 9-25, 25-23, 20-25, 15-9 last Thursday. Despite the losses, Eagles’ first-year coach Amy Schlimgen left feeling good about her team. “We had some very encouraging moments,” Schlimgen said. “The big takeaway is that we can compete and play with the best teams in the conference.” Sauk Prairie proved that against Waunakee. The Eagles stormed from the gates and took the first set from the Warriors. “We came out strong and shocked them by beating them in the first set,” Schlimgen said. The Eagles nearly stole the second set, then Waunakee took control in sets 3 and 4. “We made a few too many errors and couldn’t stop their outside hitter (Milla) Malik,” Schlimgen said. Aida Shadewald led the Eagles with 15 kills, two blocks and 12 digs, while Olivia Breunig had 13 kills, 11 assists and three blocks. Ainsley Apel had 18 digs, four aces, and provided great serve receiving, while Olivia Paukner had four kills, four blocks, and some terrific serving. Jenna Pistono had eight assists, four aces, and provided great defense, while Maddy Setterlund added two kills and three digs. Madison Pertzborn contributed three blocks and Kaitlyn Brickl added four digs. The Eagles then lost a five-set heartbreaker to DeForest. “We weren’t playing our very best volleyball that night,” Schlimgen said. “But we managed to almost upset them when we just didn’t give up after losing every other set. I was very proud of the girls for continuing to fight back over and over.” Shadewald led the way with 18 kills and two blocks, while Pistono had 16 assists and 10 digs. Apel had 14 digs, while Breunig had 14 assists and 14 kills. Paukner had two blocks and some terrific serving, while Setterlund had four kills and seven digs. Brickl had eight digs and Hannah Kruckman added four kills. “So now we know we can play with the best and now we have to play an entire match at the top of our game and upset a few of them,” Schlimgen said. • On deck: Sauk Prairie is at Baraboo Thursday at 7:15 p.m., then hosts the conference tournament Saturday beginning at 8 a.m. • Tennis: Sauk Prairie defeated Lodi, 7-0, on Oct. 1. Quinlyn Mack, Gaia Citor, Jordan O’Connor Anna Ballweg all notched straight set singles wins. In doubles play, Aimee Maasch and Haley Greenheck rolled at No. 1, while Camdyn Kastelitz and Hannah Helt cruised at No. 2. Emily Querio and Grace Fauerbach also posted a straight set victory at No. 3. “Overall, I am proud of the team’s effort and look forward to the postseason,” Eagles coach Heather Slosarek said. Singles No. 1 — Quinlyn Mack, SAUK PRAIRIE HIGH def. Dorothy Deans, LODI HIGH, 6-0, 6-0. No. 2 — Gaia Citro, SAUK PRAIRIE HIGH def. Mya Bowman, LODI HIGH, 6-0, 6-4. No. 3 — Jordan O’connor, SAUK PRAIRIE HIGH def. Rachel Winters, LODI HIGH, 6-2, 6-3. No. 4 — Anna Ballweg, SAUK PRAIRIE HIGH def. Taylor Paar, LODI HIGH, 7-6 (6), 6-3. Doubles No. 1 - Aimee Maasch - Haley Greenheck, SAUK PRAIRIE HIGH def. Adriana Lee - Leah Beyer, LODI HIGH, 6-2, 6-4. No. 2 - Camdyn Kastelitz - Hannah Helt, SAUK PRAIRIE HIGH def. Krista Mayberry - Alihah Sebert, LODI HIGH, 6-3, 6-1. No. 3 - Emily Querio - Grace Fauerbach, SAUK PRAIRIE HIGH def. Hannah Clark - Alyssa Schreiber, LODI HIGH, 6-1, 6-1