Historic heights: Sauk Prairie's first state volleyball appearance ends with semifinal loss

Dan Larson / Sauk Prairie Eagle

Lacey Puls elevates for a tip Nov. 6 midway through the third set of Sauk Prairie's WIAA Division 2 state tournament semifinal loss to Appleton Xavier.

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By Dan Larson, Sauk Prairie Eagle

ASHWAUBENON - The expressions and actions on the Sauk Prairie bench Friday evening told a story of defeat - of the realization that a dream season had just ended.

The tears and hugs continued moments later, in the lobby of the Resch Center, but by then the emotions were as much about what the Eagles accomplished in getting to the WIAA Division 2 state girls volleyball tournament as they were a 25-14, 25-11, 25-12, semifinal loss to Appleton Xavier.

"Everyone doesn't get a chance to come to state," senior hitter Alex Gust said of the Eagles' first appearance in school history. "Being one of the four teams in Division 2 to get the chance to even come here - it blows my mind."

Added senior libero Aimee Thrune: "I remember watching last year - watching all the teams go to state - and I was like, 'It would be so great to get (there).'

"… Now that we're here, it was great. Even though we lost, it was still a good game."

It certainly was for Xavier, which lost to Waukesha Catholic Memorial in the title match the next day.

The Hawks established momentum early by gaining an 11-5 lead in the first set, highlighted by a pair of Brooke Schowalter's match-high 10 kills.

They also led 13-6 in both the second and third sets - and by no less than nine after they scored their 20th point in any of the three sets - and that ability to control momentum wasn't lost on Hawks' coach Guy DeShaney.

"It's huge," he said, "because the confidence of the kids is elevated. … Today, everything just clicked."

The opposite was true for Sauk Prairie, which struggled to establish a rhythm on offense and managed just 18 kills.

"We didn't pass well," Eagles coach Eleanor Engelby said, adding that defensive errors also contributed to the struggles. "It's a game of errors - who makes the least amount of errors, who's going to dig the ball up. And we were struggling with that (Friday) and Xavier was doing a great job of it.

"… We were just overpowered, and that happens."

A boisterous and seemingly powerful crowd showed up to support Sauk Prairie, filling its allotted number of seats to near capacity well before the match began.

And the fans made sure to make their presence felt early, welcoming the Eagles to the floor when they came out of the locker room a half hour before the match for warm-ups.

"... Just to hear the Sauk Prairie fans erupt, that really got me," Thrune said. "I started crying."

No surprise, the fans didn't quiet down any once the match began - and senior setter Lauren Halweg said her and her teammates took notice throughout.

"That means so much," she said. "I wish we could have gave them more, but I think we gave them our best."

Indeed, and even though it wasn't enough for a win, Gust said her and her teammates were still going to enjoy the accomplishment of being at state.

"You just have to be happy for the moment that you have now, because you're never going to get this one back," she said, just before joining Thrune and Halweg - three of five seniors on the team - in an emotional embrace.

And Engelby was no less emotional in her account of the season a moment later, offering this bit of praise as she wiped a tear from her eye:

"Being able to coach a team like this, it's one of those rare things. They're extremely talented, intelligent, classy ladies. And it's just such a great honor to have been part of this, and that they allowed me to be a part of their team. ...

"It means a lot to me."