October 3, 2018 at 1:55 p.m.
Lakeland sweeps Hodag volleyball
Lakeland sweeps Hodag volleyball
The three sets followed a similar pattern with Lakeland using big runs at the end of all three to defeat the Hodags 25-14, 25-16, 25-16 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Rhinelander coach Brianna Scheuermann said there was a noticeable lack of energy inside the gym on Tuesday, which appeared to translate on to the court.
"You could definitely feel that in the gym," she said. "It was kind of awkward and I think that kind of impacted them, too."
The Hodags, without starting libero Mikayla Evenstad (knee), had difficulty all night in both serve receive and in the passing game. Lakeland finished the night with 12 service aces, while Rhinelander passing errors led to 11 more points for the Thunderbirds.
The troubles passing also affected the Rhinelander offense, which was credited with only six kills in the entire match.
"When there's not a good pass up, it's hard for the setter to get a good set up for us to get a good hit," Scheuermann said. "I know a lot of the sets were off the net, so it was hard for the hitters to get on top of the ball to keep it in the court. We had a lot of balls that were hit way out of the court, which is them just not getting a good set to get on top of it."
After Rhinelander won the opening two points of the first set, Lakeland went on a 7-0 run and never looked back. The Hodags got within 12-9 later in the set, but Lakeland followed with a 4-0 push to retake command.
Things were close in the second until three straight Rhinelander passing errors started a 4-0 Lakeland run that gave the T-Birds a 14-9 lead. Later in the set, Lakeland's Camille Quade rattled off four straight aces that pushed the lead to 24-15.
Lakeland started the third set on a 9-0 run. Rhinelander fought back to within 13-10 before Lakeland made another push. A late 7-0 run gave the T-Birds plenty of match point chances, ahead 24-12. Rhinelander rattled off four straight points from their until a service error by sophomore Hannah Worachek ended the match.
"The ending few points they were playing like they were against Northland Pines, which I wish they would have brought in the first set," Scheuermann said.
Kahlie Arneson had three kills and three blocks to lead the Hodags. Worachek, Brylee Ridderbusch and Brooke Mork were credited with one kill each. Mork added a team-high eight digs, Aryssa Zazada had four assists and freshman Carly Schmidt had the best night at the service line for Rhinelander, going 8 for 8 with an ace.
The road doesn't get any easier for the Hodags (1-27, 0-8 Great Northern) Saturday as they travel to Tomahawk for the second leg of the Great Northern Conference tournament. Rhinelander will face Antigo, Mosinee and Medford - the top three teams in the GNC - during the event.
Scheuermann said she doesn't know if the Hodags will have Evenstad back for Saturday, as she's slated to undergo further evaluation on her knee.
"Hopefully she can come back, otherwise it's just working with the crew that we have tonight," Scheuermann said. "Hopefully Saturday will just be a learning opportunity for those kids who are coming back next year, if (Evenstad) is unable to come back. We're going to work hard, but it's going to be a long day - hard teams to play.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.