October 10, 2018 at 12:38 p.m.
Hodag spikers swept by Tomahawk on senior night
Hodag spikers swept by Tomahawk on senior night
Just as was the case over the weekend at the conference tournament in Tomahawk, the Hodags were their strongest in the third set as they fell to the Hatchets, 25-11, 25-6, 25-17.
"The third set was definitely our best set and I don't know why it takes us two sets to finally get going," coach Brianna Scheuermann said. "The third set we had a lot more digs. The girls were communicating and passing well, and we were able to get more attacks going. They blend well when they play together. Hopefully they bring that to all of the games on Saturday."
As has been the case much of the year, lulls in each of the three sets proved to be too much for the Hodags to overcome. Rhinelander was within shouting distance, down 9-6 in the first set, but a Taylor Shilts kill following a long volley sparked a 9-1 run that swung momentum in Tomahawk's favor.
Rhinelander was not able to get anything going in the second, as it fell behind 12-1 and never recovered. After falling behind 10-3 in the third set, Rhinelander rallied back to within 12-11, but a passing error and a net violation on back-to-back points put Tomahawk back in command and the Hatchets were able to close out the match.
In particular, Tomahawk had success attacking from the left side of its formation with junior outside hitters Mady Hanse and Natalie Zastrow as the Hodags struggled to put up an effective block.
"With us not being able to get up on the block, they were hitting above our blocks, hitting down. That was definitely a killer," Scheuermann said.
Brooke Mork, the only healthy senior on the roster after libero Mikayla Evenstad sustained a season-ending knee injury last week, had a team-high six kills in her final home match at the Miazga Gym.
"Brooke had a really good game," Scheuermann noted. "She had six kills, which is unbelievable, probably her best career game. She stepped it up this game and it was senior night, so I guess she gave it her last hurrah. She was getting on top of the ball, swinging down. She had a couple she powered through the net. She was definitely swinging hard tonight."
Kahlie Arneson added three kills, Aryssa Zasada had seven assists and was 8 of 8 serving with two aces. Hannah Worachek and Carly Schmidt each had six digs for the Hodags.
Rhinelander closes the regular season with an invitational Saturday at Wausau West. Scheuermann said she expects to mix and match her lineup again, as she did last Saturday at the conference tournament, with an eye toward 2019.
"We're going to bring some girls from JV to maybe find a group for next year," she said. "Not to cut this season short with the kids we have this year, but because it was a rebuilding year, we're continuing with that, see what blends, see what girls are doing well and where, maybe change up lineups."
The WIAA playoffs begin next Thursday. Though the official brackets had not yet been released by the WIAA as of press time, Scheuermann confirmed that the Hodags received the eighth seed in their eight-team regional and will open the tournament at top-seeded Merrill.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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