Team review: RHS volleyball

It’s been a long, hard road back for the Rhinelander High School volleyball team following a few bleak seasons. 

The Hodags are not yet back to the level they were in the mid 2010s but the 2023 season was another step in the right direction. 

Rhinelander went 13-23 this season. The 13 wins equaled the total that Dan Wolter had in his first two seasons as head coach, combined. Those two seasons came off a stretch in which the Hodags won only two matches in three years.

The 13 wins also were the most for a Hodag team since 2017, which proved to be a significant year for the program. That year marked the last time that Rhinelander had won a match in Great Northern Conference play, a distinction the Hodags erased with a home victory over Northland Pines in September. 

“It’s a progression thing. Last year I think we had eight or nine wins. This year we had 13. It’s a slow progression and we’re making steps,” Wolter said following a loss to Tomahawk in the opening round of the WIAA tournament.

Here are five storylines from the recently completed season.

Breaking the streak

Sept. 19 will go down as the most significant date of the season for the Hodags. That night, after 62 failed attempts, Rhinelander finally returned to the Great Northern Conference win column. 

Prior to that, a three-set win over Lakeland in October 2017 had been the Hodags’ last conference win. That streak spanned 205 sets in conference play, 2,173 days and four different head coaches. It finally came to an end when the Hodags won three close sets to edge the Eagles 25-22, 25-23, 25-23.

“It’s definitely been the goal for the last few years, to get rid of this streak,” Wolter said afterward. “I couldn’t be more proud of the girls tonight. They played a heck of a game, never got down on themselves once. Even after giving up a little run, they dug down, made a good play and got on their own run. It was great to see after a couple of disappointing games on Saturday to come back strong to play three really complete sets.”

Getting closer

Though Rhinelander ended the year losing its final six matches in conference play, in general, the Hodags were much more competitive in 2023. 

Rhinelander won five sets overall in conference play, its most since matching that number in 2019. The Hodags had at least one set in which they scored 20 or more points against every other school in the conference this year. That included a 25-23 loss in the third set of the first match against eventual conference champ Mosinee and a 26-24 loss in the second set during its second match against third-place finisher Lakeland. 

Tomahawk finished as the conference runner-up, but the Hodags had a pair of competitive matches with the Hatchets, pushing Tomahawk to extra points in one set while taking another in a four-set loss Oct. 3. The teams met again in the WIAA playoffs where the Hodags pushed the Hatchets to extra points again before dropping the third set 28-26.

“The girls see it too, I hope. Things are starting to come together. We’re starting to put up tough games in conference playing against tough opponents,” Wolter said following the Hodags’ Oct. 3 match against the Hatchets. “Tomahawk right now is second in the conference. That’s a good team. For us to get a set on them and play them as tight as we did, things are coming along. We’ve just got to keep believing in ourselves and the process.”

Just keep swinging

Part of Rhinelander’s improvement this year was underscored in its offensive numbers. The Hodags had a 0.068 attacking percentage in GNC play, its best since 2017 (.116). 

A number of Rhinelander’s other offensive metrics were also their best in six years. The Hodags had 249 kills in league play, up from 184 last season, and averaged 27.2 attacks per set, up from 22.6 in 2022. 

Wolter credited much of the success to better serve-receive and back row play, which helped get the Hodag offense in system more often this year. 

“That’s the thing. We’re running offense and we haven’t been able to do that consistently in a long time,” he said. “We were able to consistently run offense, get a lot of swings and a lot of attacks on balls where usually that first ball just eats us up and we don’t get an opportunity.”

Statbook

Rhinelander also spread the wealth around this year as opposed to a year ago when Ava Lamers was the Hodags’ clear-cut leader in all attacking categories. 

Junior Kelsi Beran had a team-best 69 kills in league play while senior Lily Treder had 55 and sophomore Libbey Buchmann had 43. Treder’s .194 attacking percentage was ninth-best in the GNC and Beran was .111 on the attack as she led the team in total chances (243).

Senior Lexi Robinson and juniors Macey Schmoeger and Callie Hoerchler figured into the attack at times during the season as well.

“Having three, solid attackers in that rotation is helpful. It keeps a little pressure of the middles and allows the setters to push balls all over the place,” Wolter noted at the start of the year.

Junior Lucy Lindner was Rhinelander’s primary setter this year. Her 4.1 assists per set were fourth-most in the GNC. Senior libero Emma Chiamulera had a team-high 137 digs while Buchmann stood out as a solid all-around player with 113 digs.

If there was one glaring weakness that developed during the season, it was serving. The Hodags’ 102 service errors and .853 serving percentage were both last in the conference. 

What’s next

With a number of key pieces returning, the Hodags are hopeful they can continue their upward trajectory next year. 

“This year I thought we played a lot of tight matches,” Wolter said. “We were able to pull a handful of sets on good teams this year and get a win (in conference). Next year we shoot for two wins or shoot for five. We’ve just got to keep building off of this.” 

Beran, Buchmann and Schmoeger are all slated to be back in the attack as well as Hoerchler, who will look to work her way back from a knee injury suffered near the end of the season. 

The Hodags will also have Lindner back at setter along with defensive specialist Tori Stella, who could be a candidate to take over at libero with Chiamulera graduating.

In Treder and Chiamulera, the Hodags will graduate their two all-conference selections from this year’s team. The Hodags also graduate Robinson, backup setters Ava Krouze and Maddie Ewan, right-side hitter Mya Krouze and defensive specialist Alyssa Smits. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].