A lot of people would think playing eight prep volleyball matches in a 24-hour period would deter a team.

After playing a make-up Southern Badger Conference match with Monona Grove on Friday night, the Madison Edgewood girls were at it again in their Edgewood Invitational — one that featured nine ranked teams — Saturday afternoon.

The Crusaders were no worse for wear, defeating Sun Prairie 25-18, 25-19 to claim the title.

"It's really great," setter Olivia Dittmann said. "We all worked hard together and pushed hard together. It makes the long day worth it."

Both teams had a tough route to the title match. Sun Prairie (20-15-1) was pushed to three games by Madison West in the quarterfinals before sweeping Appleton Xavier, the fourth-ranked team in Division 2, in the semifinals.

"I couldn't be more pleased with the way our girls played today," Sun Prairie coach TJ  Kerr said. "We just ran out of steam at the end."

The same could be said for Edgewood (21-7). Sweeping Beaver Dam in the quarters, the Crusaders got past Madison Memorial 25-27, 25-18, 21-19.

Sophomore Ashley Ring found the floor on a kill to propel the Crusaders in the third and final game.

"As tired as they were, even with that Memorial match, Memorial played well, but you could see there just wasn't a lot of energy," Edgewood coach Steve Bleier said. "Once we got so close, it was almost like, 'Why not? We're here, we'd might as well finish it.' "

As the championship match began, the Cardinals were thought to have the upper hand, having had a 15-minute break after their semi. But Edgewood kept its momentum.

Opening up a 7-2 lead, the Crusaders rolled through Game 1 by taking advantage of Sun Prairie's miscues.

"There's an intimidation factor," Kerr said. "Kids know Edgewood is a great team and a great program."

The second game started as a mirror to the first, until midway through when the Cardinals switched roles and capitalized on a few of Edgewood's mistakes. After a quick time-out, Edgewood scored a side-out and posted three straight points to seal the title.

"It was intense and nerve-wrecking," Dittmann said of the day. "But we all just realized what we needed to do and we got it done."

With this trophy under their belt, the Crusaders can start preparing to add another to their case — the state title.

"Today was more a chance for us to get a mental test," Bleier said. "As much as we said our goal today was to do the best we can, (at the) same time a championship level team is just not satisfied with that.

"They're not going to make excuses. That's what a good team is going to do."