Off and running

Amy Schlimgen loves her girls volleyball team at Sauk Prairie this season. But the veteran head coach also knows her Eagles have a long way to go to reach their lofty goals. Sauk Prairie went to the Waterloo Invite last Saturday — which will be the Eagles only invite of at least five-teams this season. Sauk Prairie went 2-2 in pool play, then lost to Hartford in the playoff round. “We are going to have to keep working on consistently tough play all of the time and eliminating unforced errors,” Schlimgen said. “We have a strong and talented team and I am confident we will get there.” The Eagles opened against eventual champion Waterloo and gave the Pirates all they could handle. Waterloo won a grueling first set, 34-32, the Eagles rallied back to take the second set, 25-21, before the Pirates won the final set, 15-10. Junior outside hitter Aida Shadewald had nine kills, three aces and four blocks, while junior middle hitter Olivia Paukner had seven kills and four blocks. Senior setter Olivia Breunig had four kills and 15 assists, while sophomore middle hitter Anni Braund had three kills and three blocks. Sophomore setter Jenna Pistono had 11 assists, junior libero Alia Schlimgen had 14 digs and two kills, senior defensive specialist Kaitlyn Brickl had five digs and three aces, sophomore setter Alexis Klemm added two kills and two blocks and sophomore middle hitter Maggie Hartwig added five blocks.   Tournament runner-up Hartford then downed the Eagles, 25-16, 25-16. Shadewald had 10 kills, seven digs and two saves, while Breunig added seven assists and six kills. Hartwig had three kills, Pistono had seven assists and seven digs, Schlimgen added 15 digs and Paukner had two kills and a block.   “We couldn’t keep up to their fast tempo offense and made a few too many errors to come too close to them,” Amy Schlimgen said. Sauk Prairie then toppled Lake Mills, 25-6, 23-25, 15-11. Shadewald led the way with 11 kills, three blocks and six digs, while Breunig had eight kills, 14 assists, one block and one save. Hartwig (three kills, seven blocks), Pistono (10 assists, eight digs), Paukner (two kills, six digs, 22 good serves), Schlimgen (eight digs, three assists and terrific serve receive), Brickl (seven digs) and Braund (four kills, two blocks) all had big matches, as well. The Eagles then rolled past Marshall, 25-13, 25-12. Once again, Shadewald led with eight kills, three digs and two blocks, while Hartwig had four kills and two blocks. Pistono had eight assists and two saves, while Breunig added two kills and seven assists. Paukner had two aces and three blocks, while Braund had two kills and two blocks. Schlimgen had seven digs and two aces, Brickl had six digs and five aces and Klemm added two kills and one block.   The Eagles received the No. 3 seed and a rematch with Hartford. But just like the first meeting, the Orioles were too tough and prevailed, 25-18, 25-16. “We made a lot of unforced errors, while they seemed to make very few,” Amy Schlimgen said. “We did play them a bit better than before with some long tough rallies.” Shadewald finished with four kills, nine digs and two aces, while Breunig had four kills and eight assists. Pistono had seven assists and six digs, Braund had three kills, Schlimgen had 16 digs and was terrific receiving serves, and Brickl had six digs. Sauk Prairie also defeated Lakeside Lutheran, 25-23, 25-17, 20-25, 21-25, 16-14, last Tuesday and toppled Baraboo, 25-21, 25-19, 25-23 last Thursday. In the Eagles’ win over Lakeside Lutheran, they nearly let a two-set lead evaporate. Lakeside led the fifth set, 13-10, but Sauk Prairie rallied back behind an ace from Shadewald, and a block kill, a tip kill, and finally an ace from Olivia Paukner. “It was a very exciting ending to our first home match of the season and a great way to start,” Amy Schlimgen said. Shadewald finished with 20 kills, 19 digs, three aces, four blocks and five saves, while Breunig had 17 assists, 10 kills, seven digs, three blocks and two saves. Paukner had six kills, one ace and five blocks, while Schlimgen had 24 digs, one ace and 21 other good serves. Brickl had 13 digs and 16 good serves, Braund added four kills and three blocks, Hartwig had two kills and two blocks and Pistono had 11 assists, 11 digs, two saves, and two aces. Sauk Prairie also edged Baraboo last Thursday. Shadewald finished with 15 kills, 16 digs, two blocks and two aces, while Breunig had four kills and 17 assists. Brickl had 10 digs and five aces, while Schlimgen had 15 digs. Braund had six kills, Makenzie Breunig had three kills, Paukner had two kills and three aces, Pistono had eight assists and seven digs, and Hartwig added two kills and three blocks. “We certainly weren’t playing our best ball, but managed to pull it off,” Amy Schlimgen said.   After one week, Amy Schlimgen likes what she’s seen from her team. “Shadewald is a very strong all-around player and definitely one of the best hitters in the area,” Amy Schlimgen said. “Our defensive specialists, Schlimgen and Brickl, are awesome in the back row and play with great focus and heart. “Olivia Breunig and (Jenna) Pistono are running our offense and doing a great job! Paukner is a much stronger and faster hitter this year and is playing great defense, as well! And we are very pleased and excited about the new additions to the team and what they have to offer. “Sophomores (Anni) Braund and (Maggie) Hartwig got thrown into the starting line-up and are so fun to watch play! They are explosive and are both threats at the net — blocking and hitting.” • On deck: Sauk Prairie was at Watertown Tuesday, then is at Portage Thursday. The Eagles head to the Richland Center Triangular on Saturday, then host Reedsburg on Sept. 29.   Sept. 17 SAUK PRAIRIE 3, BARABOO 0 Sauk Prairie ……….. 25 25 25 Baraboo ………....…. 21 19 23 SAUK PRAIRIE (leaders) — Kills: Shadewald 15; Assists: O. Breunig 17; Aces: Bricki 5; Digs: Schlimgen 15; Blocks: Hartwig 3. BARABOO — Kills: Gruner 8; Assists: Buelow 17; Aces: Gruner 2; Digs:Gruner 14; Blocks: Gruner 3.   Sept. 15 SAUK PRAIRIE 3,  LAKESIDE LUTHERAN 2 Lakeside ……… 23 17 25 25 14 Sauk Prairie … 25 25 20 21 16 Lakeside Lutheran (leaders): Kills — DeNoyer 15, Kuepers 14. Blocks — DeNoyer 3.5. Digs — Gnabasik 25, Bilitz 15. Aces — Raymond 4. Assists — Raymond 50. Sauk Prairie: Kills — Shadewald 20, O. Breunig 10. Blocks — Shadewald 2. Digs — Schlimgen 24. Aces — Shadewald 3. Assists — O. Breunig 17.