Back and forth they went, in a postseason thriller Saturday night.
Middleton’s girls volleyball team seemingly seized control of its WIAA Division 1 regional final at Monona Grove. But back stormed the Silver Eagles.
Eventually, fourth-seeded Monona Grove edged fifth-seeded Middleton, 25-17, 19-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-12 and captured the regional title.
Middleton’s season ended sooner than it had hoped, while the Silver Eagles now meet top-seeded Verona in a sectional semifinal Thursday.
“We would have like to go further into the sectional, but there was a reason that they were seeded fourth and we were fifth seeded,” Middleton coach Franco Marcos said. “We were trying to pull and upset and came up short.”
The Cardinals had a rough start, hit -0.171 in the first set, and fell into a 1-0 hole. Middleton played better in the second set, breaking away from a 14-all tie and tying the match up.