BURLINGTON — The small team with the big heart will have to wait another year.

The Central boys volleyball team fell one match short of making its first-ever State appearance in losing to third-ranked Middleton, 25-13, 25-16, 25-21 in a Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association sectional final Thursday at Burlington High School.

In just their fourth season, the 10th-ranked Falcons (27-7-2) completed their finest season yet.

“We just couldn’t get it done,” said senior middle hitter Matt Feivor, who has been with the program all four years. “I had a lot of fun with these guys. In four years, we gave them a run for their money. I’ll look back on it and have no regrets. None.”

Middleton (22-3) secured its fifth consecutive trip to the State Tournament. The Cardinals (22-3) took advantage of a size advantage with a front line featuring a pair of 6-foot-7 hitters. Outside hitter Michael Owen finished with a match-high 15 kills and was unstoppable at times at the net.

“To be honest, they were just too big for us,” Central coach Wayne Schultz said. “Out of the top ten teams, we are by far the smallest team in the state but we play big. I was proud of my guys. We worked hard and got beat by a better team.”

Despite a vocal pro-Central crowd, the Falcons got off to a slow start in losing five of the first six points. The Falcons fell behind 13-6 in Game 1 and never recovered. In Game 2, Central slowly trimmed its deficit to 18-15 when the Cardinals rallied for a 7-1 run to close it out.

The third game was the most entertaining with eight ties before Middleton put together another late rally to finish off the Falcons. Owen ended the match with his 15th kill.

“He’s a beast,” Feivor said. “Back row, front row … wherever you put him, he’s a good player.”

Central’s Jim Schultz had 14 kills and 20 digs, while Feivor tallied six kills. Dayton Erickson had 22 assists and Nick Manning had 10 digs and two aces.

Middleton pulled off the victory despite playing in a hostile gymnasium. The Central crowd did all it could to help its team.

“It was a very loud, boisterous crowd that we don’t get in the Madison area,” Middleton coach Ben White said. “They were yelling, chanting, taunting and our guys loved it. They don’t see anything like that. They fed off it. It was a fun atmosphere.”

Central suffered three of its seven losses this season against Middleton.