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A pair of Madison area girls volleyball powerhouses will collide tonight, as Middleton (19-3, 5-0 Big Eight) will host LaFollette (25-1, 5-0) tonight in a conference showdown that will most likely determine the 2009 Big Eight Championship.



LaFollette, No. 11 in WSN's latest team rankings, swept the Monona Grove Invite two weekends ago, sweeping all six opponents. Tuesday night, the Lancers held off a pesky Madison Memorial squad, 3-2, to set up a battle of the undefeated tonight. No. 4 Middleton, meanwhile, was upset by Lodi in the semifinals of its own Cardinal Invitational last weekend en route to a third place finish. Yet only Madison West has been able to take a set against the Cardinals in league play this season in a 3-1 decision in early September.



OK, so two good teams are playing-- but there is so much more here than just two teams vying for a league title.



This match will pit two of the three Division I recruits from the Big Eight against one another. Middleton's Molly Toon, a senior outside hitter, will play for Michigan in 2010 and has been the Cardinal's anchor this season. For LaFollette, junior OH Crystal Graff will wear Badger gear in 2011 as she has already committed to UW. (Look for these two to collide in Big Ten play in a couple years!)



Secondly, this match, originally scheduled for the Middleton High School varsity gym, will be moved to Glacier Creek Middle School in Cross Plains, as the renovations and seating will not be finished before game time. The fact that the match could not be played in the Cardinals' regular substitute gym means they are expecting a big crowd. Never have I, personally, heard of a game being moved from a high school campus to a middle school campus 20 minutes away, but it should give the Cross Plains contingency a chance to see their "home" team in action.