Sports

The path appears extremely manageable.

Now, Middleton’s boys volleyball team is determined to take full advantage.

The Cardinals received the No. 1 seed in the Sun Prairie Sectional and will host eighth-seeded Madison East Friday at 6 p.m. in a regional semifinal. If Middleton wins there, it would host either fourth-seeded Madison West or fifth-seeded Waukesha North Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a regional final.

The sectional is Nov. 2 at 4:30 in Sun Prairie.

“While we have had success this year against many teams in our sectional, we understand the playoffs are a whole new season,” said Middleton interim coach Justin Haack, whose Cardinals are 32-5 overall. “Nothing is given to you except that first match.

“We want to make the season as long as possible, and in order to do that, we must continue to improve and focus on one practice and one match at a time. We're looking forward to the challenges ahead.”

The process began in the summer of 2018.

Schools came from the corners of both coasts — and everywhere in between. And when it was over, Parker Van Buren smiled — then breathed a giant sigh of relief.

Van Buren, arguably the finest boys volleyball player in the history of Middleton High School, gave his verbal commitment to Loyola (Ill.) last week. That ended a 16-month recruiting process that the 6-foot-8 Van Buren admitted was exhausting at times.

“For me this felt like a long process,” Van Buren said. “It seemed like every week new coaches were contacting me, and it was super cool to get recognized.

“But this past summer, the pressure really started to amp up a little bit as many coaches were anxious to get me on a visit, and also for me to make a decision. I feel like I took the perfect amount of time to make my decision, because I enjoyed the process and I have no doubt I made the right decision.”

The regular season has officially ended.

The postseason is here — and Middleton girls volleyball team is hoping to surprise.

The Cardinals, seeded fifth in their sectional, open the playoffs Thursday against 12^th-seeded La Crosse Central in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal at 7 p.m. If the Cardinals win there, they’ll play either fourth-seeded DeForest or 13^th-seeded Madison East in a regional final on Oct. 26 at 7 p.m.

While the Cardinals’ postseason road is tough, Middleton is also battling injury problems and must find a way to win if it’s shorthanded.

“We will need to finish the matches in three or four sets,” Middleton coach Franco Marcos said. “Some of our key skill positions may not be able to finish the match if it goes to five sets.

MADISON — The goal was carved out 365 days earlier.

Middleton’s girls golf team had just finished second at the 2018 WIAA Division 1 state tournament. And as the Cardinals’ had dinner that night at Mid Town Pub in Middleton, they immediately outlined their objective for 2019.

“It was really at that moment that we said the goal was to win a state title this year,” said Cardinals senior captain Kate Meier. “We looked at the scores and that we were bringing back four girls and we knew winning state was realistic.”

It sure was.

Twelve months later, on a cold and windy Tuesday afternoon at University Ridge Golf Course, Middleton’s dreams become reality. The Cardinals compiled the best score during each round of the two-day tournament and captured the third state title in school history. 

Flashbacks of last year’s heartbreaking playoff loss were fresh on Kallion Buckner’s mind.

Middleton’s standout running back just had a touchdown called back last Friday night, and the momentum had swung back in host Sun Prairie’s favor.

“I came into this game and I was thinking about last year,” Buckner said. “We lost (42-36) and that was on my mind the whole time. I was thinking when they called that touchdown back, that brought me back.”

But, instead of his team going on to lose, a long touchdown run by Buckner on the Cardinals’ next possession helped lead Middleton to a convincing 35-19 victory over host Sun Prairie in a Big Eight Conference game last Friday night.

“We stayed tough, we executed everything, and came out with a ‘W’,” Buckner said.

There is no such thing as a rebuilding year inside Middleton’s girls’ tennis program.

The Cardinals only reload.

That was evident once again at last Thursday’s WIAA Division 1 Waunakee Sectional.

Middleton, which was hit hard by graduation after the 2018 campaign, came oh, so close to winning the sectional title. In the process, though, the Cardinals did have five players qualify for this week’s individual state tournament.

Madison West won the sectional with 34 points and earned a trip to team state. Middleton was second with 33 points and Madison Memorial was third at 31. All three teams are ranked in the top-10 in the state.

MILWAUKEE — Scott Buros looked around at the sea of green that had enveloped Whitefish Bay High School.

Sixteen of the state’s top volleyball teams had gathered for one of the year’s best invitationals last Saturday. But during a break from the digs, sets and spikes, Buros noticed something substantially different.

“People are just a lot more friendly today,” said Buros, a senior outside hitter at Middleton.

He was right.

Years from now, few will remember who won the 2019 Whitefish Bay Invitational. Instead, it will be remembered as the day the state’s volleyball community came together in support of Ben White.

White, Middleton’s popular, passionate and highly-involved head coach, recently learned he has lymphoma. Brad Kuehl, the head coach at Nicolet and a close friend of White’s, decided this was the perfect tournament to support his friend.

Becky Halverson insists she wasn’t worried.

But there’s no doubt, Middleton’s girls golf coach feels a lot better about her team today than she did last weekend.

The Cardinals won the WIAA Division 1 DeForest Sectional Tuesday with a 324-team score. That was 33 strokes better than runner-up Waunakee (357) and gave Middleton the second-best score in the state’s six sectionals.

Just four days earlier, Middleton won the Baraboo Regional, but struggled with a season-worst 340. After rebounding at sectionals, the Cardinals now head to the state tournament Oct. 14-15 at University Ridge as one of the two favorites along with Brookfield Central.

“I wasn’t totally worried. I was pretty confident in the girls, actually really confident in them,” Halverson said Tuesday night. “I knew they weren’t going to shoot another 340. That’s not the norm for us. I think we got back to playing like we can (at sectionals).”

MADISON — Terry Geurkink had no interest in crunching numbers.

Geurkink, Middleton’s girls tennis coach, knew his team was in a battle with Madison West for the Big Eight Conference championship last Thursday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. But Geurkink’s concentration was spent on the matches, not the scoreboard.

“I didn't know the score and I didn't want to know,” Geurkink said. “I was just focused on making sure we played to our potential.”

Middleton did just that. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that wasn’t quite good enough to knock off the mighty Regents.

West finished with 42 points and edged Middleton (41) for the title. Madison Memorial was third (37) and Verona was fourth (33).

The key match came at No.1 doubles, where West’s Camille Vadas and Sophie Knigge downed Middleton’s Jessica Pientka and Noor Rajpal, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, for the title.

JANESVILLE — The streak is alive and well.

For Middleton football coach Jason Pertzborn and his Cardinals, though, there’s so much more to achieve.

Middleton rolled past host Janesville Craig, 42-7, last Friday and clinched a playoff spot for the 24^th straight year. That’s tied for the longest streak in Division 1 with Hartland Arrowhead.

Middleton won its third straight game and improved to 5-2 overall and in the Big Eight. The Cardinals are now tied for second place in the league with Sun Prairie, Verona and Madison La Follette.

Forgive Pertzborn, though, if he’s not impressed — yet.

“Making the playoffs is just the start,” Pertzborn said. “There’s a lot more that’s out there for these guys, and now it’s time to go and get it.”

Billy Johnson, a standout right guard and defensive lineman, agreed.