Sports

Last year is just that.

Revenge isn’t a factor.

Instead, Middleton’s girls volleyball team is focusing on the here and now.

At least that’s what Cardinals head coach Franco Marcos is saying publicly.

Middleton stormed through regional play last week, with impressive wins over Holmen and La Crosse Central.

Now, the third-seeded Cardinals travel to second-seeded Waunakee Thursday for a sectional semifinal at 8 p.m. A year ago, the Warriors defeated Middleton in this same gym and at the same point in the postseason.

Marcos insists, though, that the past is the past.

“We have a different team this year and so do they,” Marcos said. “We will be at their place and we need to not beat ourselves. We just need to be the best team on Thursday night.”

Middleton certainly was the best team in its regional victories.

The Cardinals toppled 14^th-seeded Holmen, 25-18, 25-10, 21-12 last Thursday.

Ashley Aegerter. Sam Andryk. Emily Douglas. Elizabeth Ihrig. Olivia Kossel. Karley Licking. Maddy Mack.

These seven seniors on Middleton’s girls swimming team did something last week that has never been done in the history of the program.

They finished their careers undefeated in Big Eight Conference dual meets.

Middleton rolled past Madison Memorial, 104-66, last Tuesday and finished a perfect 9-0 in league dual meets. That marked the fourth straight year the Cardinals have won the conference with a perfect record.

That also means Middleton’s sensational senior class went 36-0 in league dual meets during their four-year careers.

“At the end of the meet, my initial reaction was ‘Great, 9-0. We really earned that,’ ” Middleton coach Lauren Cabalka said. “After thinking more about it, I realized that this senior class never lost a dual meet.  

It’s become old hat for Middleton’s boys volleyball team to win the Big Eight Conference championship.

But that doesn’t make it any less rewarding.

The Cardinals continued their domination of the league last week, rolling past Fort Atkinson and Madison La Follette.

Middleton finished the conference season a perfect 10-0 and won the league for the seventh time in eight years. The Cardinals are also 20-0 in conference matches the past two years and 82-4 in the league over the past eight years.

“Those are big numbers,” Middleton coach Ben White said.

That’s for sure. And the Cardinals added to those glowing totals with two more wins last week.

First, the Cardinals bested Fort Atkinson, 25-16, 25-15, 25-19, last Tuesday.

Andy Keeler led Middleton with 13 kills and 10 digs, while Connor Zimmick had seven kills,17 assists and three blocks. Robbie Drachenberg had 18 assists and James Caldwell added 11 digs.

After defeating its nemesis, Mequon Homestead, in the state semifinals Saturday, there was only one remaining goal for Middleton’s girls’ tennis team – a state title.

The Cardinals made it a reality by beating Eau Claire Memorial, 5-2, for the WIAA Division 1 team title at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

“It feels awesome to win state,” said sophomore Kaisey Skibba, Middleton’s No. 2 singles player. “Our team has worked so hard all year there’s nothing that feels better than to win state.”

“It’s just amazing,” added Baylie Gold, who plays No. 2 doubles. “We’ve all put so much work into it and we’ve all worked so hard and I’m just really proud of everyone because I just think we really deserve it this year. This is our year to win and we got it.”

The Cardinals got off to a slow start after their emotional win over the Highlanders, but managed to shake it off.

Facing her biggest moment on by far the biggest stage of her young tennis career, Kaisey Skibba confirmed what those who know her best already knew – she has nerves of steel.

With Middleton and Mequon Homestead locked in a 3-3 tie during the state semifinals Saturday, everything was riding on the outcome of Skibba’s match. And Skibba, who was playing No. 2 singles, was in deep trouble.

Trailing 4-1 in the third set, the sophomore somehow turned it around and pulled out a thrilling 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3) victory over Anna Kreynin. That gave the Cardinals an exhilarating 4-3 win over Homestead in the semifinals of the WIAA Division 1 girls state team tennis tournament at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

Middleton then rolled past Eau Claire Memorial, 5-2, later in the day to capture the program’s first state title.

“We were all but out,” Middleton coach Deke Bradley said. “She put our team on her back and saved us.”

The original film was a horror flick for Middleton’s football team.

Now, the Cardinals hope the sequel has a much different ending.

Middleton will host Madison Memorial in a WIAA Division 1 first round playoff game Friday at 7 p.m. The Cardinals (7-2) are the No. 3 seed, while the Spartans (6-3) are seeded sixth.

The game will be a rematch of the regular season opener, a game in which visiting Memorial cruised past Middleton, 31-14.

“We’re a lot better than we were back in August in Week 1,” Middleton senior quarterback Kasey Miller said. “We have been improving every week, and continuing to grow and succeed as a team.

“It was early in the year and receiving that first loss hurt. But it showed us how much we needed to pick up our play and I believe that's exactly what we have done since that game.”

Senior offensive tackle Hayden Acker agreed.

It’s been almost 14 years now since Jeremy Ziegler and Ryan Oliversen stamped their names into Middleton football lore. On Oct. 30, 1999, that duo hooked up for a game-winning touchdown pass with 3 seconds left and Middleton stunned Sun Prairie, 14-10, in a WIAA Level 2 playoff game.

Last Friday, Middleton’s Kasey Miller and Demond Hill combined to give the Cardinals arguably their most dramatic win since that 1999 thriller.

Miller threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Hill with 38 seconds left to give Middleton a stunning 34-33 win over host Madison La Follette.

“I think there were 40 seconds left and La Follette had a (linebacker) out of place,” Miller said. “We saw it, quick snapped the ball early and had the right pass called.

“I just got the ball out in Demond’s hands and he did the rest of it to get in. It was huge for our team.”

This is what any team desires, what any coach craves.

When the postseason arrives, everyone hopes to be peaking. And clearly, Middleton’s girls volleyball team is doing exactly that.

The Cardinals captured the Big Eight Conference tournament last Saturday held at Beloit Memorial. Middleton pushed its winning streak to 10 straight matches and seems ready to make some noise this postseason.

“It was sweet to win the Big Eight Tournament and keep the momentum going before the playoffs start,” Middleton coach Franco Marcos said. “Great time to peak.”

Indeed.

Middleton, which is the No. 3 seed in its sectional, opens the postseason Thursday against No. 14 Holmen at 6:30 p.m. in a regional semifinal. If the Cardinals win there, they’ll meet either Madison Memorial or La Crosse Central Saturday at 7 p.m. in a regional final.

This date, this moment, this event has been in the back of their collective minds for months.

And Middleton’s girls tennis team can’t wait to make the most of it.

The Cardinals are back at the WIAA Division 1 state team championships for the fourth straight year and the sixth time in school history.

But this is undoubtedly Middleton’s best team ever. So the Cardinals fully believe they have a legitimate chance to bring the gold ball back to Middleton.

“Everyone is so excited for this weekend,” Middleton senior doubles standout Darcy Hogendorn said. “Since the first day of season, the one thing that has been on everyone’s mind has been Team State.

“I know every single girl on this team wants it so bad, and we are all going to work hard this week to get ready. We know it’s not going to be easy, but if we want to win it all, all we have to do is play our best tennis and give it our all.”

MADISON — They began discussing their dreams last winter.

At the time, they seemed extremely lofty. But Darcy Hogendorn and Allison Ragsdale never lost sight of those aspirations — and last weekend Middleton’s tennis duo made them a reality.

Hogendorn and Ragsdale played some of the most inspired tennis of their young lives. And the pair earned an impressive fifth place finish at the WIAA Division 1 state tournament held at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

“I am so happy about getting fifth place,” Hogendorn said. “Last year during the winter, Allison and I had a talk with our offseason coaches, and they asked us what we wanted to accomplish this season.

“We told them we wanted to get on the podium at individual state. The fact that we not only got on the podium, but got fifth place, feels pretty amazing.”