D-1 Regional Recap: Madison Area Teams Head to Sectionals

Kevin Damask

October 22, 2018 @ 12:21 PM

Several Division 1 teams in the Madison area earned regional titles last weekend, advancing to WIAA sectional play. While a few No. 1 seeds, such as Watertown and Sun Prairie, were expected to move past the first round, lower seeds like Oregon, surprised the experts with upset victories. Here's a look at teams that survived the first test: Sun Prairie Sweeps Madison Memorial The No. 1-seeded Cardinals (38-8) blew past Big Eight rival Madison Memorial in convincing fashion Oct. 20. Sun Prairie rolled to a 3-0 sweep, winning 25-20, 25-15 and 25-8. Junior Karlie McNabb paced the Cardinals with nine kills and six digs. Sophomore Josie Halbleib also had a very good night with 14 assists and five service aces. Senior Gabby Braatz had four kills. Defensively, senior Morgan Jensen and sophomore Payton Addink each had eight digs. Sun Prairie will face fourth-seeded Holman (30-2) in the opening round of sectionals Oct. 25. Holman defeated Tomah (3-0) and Middleton (3-1) to claim its regional title. Watertown Cruises Past West Bend West Despite a nine-day layoff from their regular season finale, the Goslings took care of business. Top-seeded Watertown downed West Bend West 3-1, winning 25-22, 21-25, 25-11 and 25-22. West Bend West pushed the Goslings somewhat, taking one set and showing competitive fire in three out of four. Sophomore Alayna Westenberg led Watertown with 16 kills, while senior Brianne Korducki added 14. Junior Allison Stair added 10. Defensively, Stair was a digging machine, finishing with 29. Junior Isabelle Schauer had an outstanding match, finishing with 46 assists, seven service aces and 24 digs. Senior libero Sheridan Dettman had 19 digs. Watertown (40-5) will play fourth-seeded Slinger in Thursday's sectional semi-final. Verona Set to Clash With Waunakee Verona, another No. 1 seed, had little trouble advancing past the first round. The Wildcats (34-5) toppled DeForest 3-1, with scores of 25-20, 25-19, 24-26 and 25-23. Junior Megan Touchett had nine kills, while senior Nikki Phelps had seven. Senior Emma Frahm posted 19 assists. On defense, junior Amelia Hust had 21 digs. Seniors Maddy Kelley and Sydney Rae each finished with five blocks. Waunakee, meanwhile, brushed past Baraboo with a 3-0 sweep. The Warriors won with scores of 25-22, 25-9 and 25-14. Senior Kiana Schmitt paced the Warriors with 13 kills. Waunakee's potent attack was set up by senior Summer Schwenn (19 assists) and junior Sam Miller (14). Senior Sarah Malone added 10 digs. On Thursday, No. 1 seed Verona meets No. 2 Waunakee (44-6) in a must-see sectional clash. No. 6 Oregon Moves On The Panthers were the biggest surprise among Madison area teams, knocking off No. 3 Union Grove for a regional championship. After barely surviving the first round, Oregon (28-9) handled Union Grove Saturday with a 3-0 sweep. Senior Bekken Pearson, an outside hitter/middle blocker, had 10 kills and 13 digs. Senior Erin Flanagan posted three service aces, 28 assists and 16 digs. Emily Konop, another senior, finished with 12. On Oct. 18, the Panthers opened regional play hosting lower-seeded Janesville Parker. Parker gave Oregon a scare, but the Panthers prevailed 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-13, 21-25 and 15-5). The Panthers will have another stiff test when they play No. 2 Westosha Central (34-10) in Thursday's sectional opener. However, the match will be on Oregon's home court. Milton Wins Pair to Move to Next Round The Red Hawks (32-8) took care of both Madison LaFollette and Janesville Craig to advance to sectionals. Milton opened the playoffs with a 3-0 sweep of LaFollette Oct. 18, followed by a 3-1 victory over a strong Craig squad with nearly 40 wins. Milton advances to play No. 1 seed and historic powerhouse Burlington (34-5) on Thursday. Against La Follette, senior Chloe Buescher had 14 kills. Fellow seniors Ashley Didelot added 11 kills, while Emma Sullivan had 10. Freshman Jordan Karlen added 13 assists and senior Skyler Salter had 12.