Hodag volleyball goes 1-3 in home invite

The Rhinelander High School volleyball team picked up a win in its opening match on Saturday but did not have much else go right as it took fourth place in its home five-team invitational at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.

After laboring past Chequamegon in three sets in the opener, Rhinelander was swept by Auburndale, Shawano and Green Bay Southwest. 

“We got one, that was key. You never want to go oh-for. Getting one was good. We just didn’t play our best volleyball the last three games,” Hodag coach Dan Wolter said.

In general, Saturday’s struggles could be chalked up to troubles starting the point. Rhinelander missed 22 serves on the day and was aced 27 times in serve-receive. That translated to roughly 5 1/2 points conceded in each game from the service line alone.

“Our serve-receive looked really good at times and just not at others,” Wolter said. “Playing against good competition, that’s going to hurt you. And not a good serving day for us again today, either. Way too many missed serves and that’s just free points. Especially when you’re down by a few, giving them a free one doesn’t help.”

Up 14-7 at one point in the opening set against Chequamegon, the Screaming Eagles raced back to a 17-16 lead at one point and led 26-25 before Lily Treder staved off set point with a kill and Lexi Robinson followed with back-to-back aces to end the set. Chequamegon reeled off 12 straight points early in the second to take a 13-2 lead and never looked back, winning 25-18.

Chequamegon got off to another hot start in the third, leading 8-3 before Robinson stemmed the tide with a kill. Kelsi Beran recorded three of her team-high nine aces on the day as part of an 8-0 run that put Rhinelander in the lead. The Hodags eventually won the decisive set 15-10 on a tip kill by Lucy Lindner.

“Kesli went on a pretty good run there and got us right back in it and we were able to finish things out there. It wasn’t our best looking game, but happy to get a win there,” Wolter said.

    Rhinelander’s Lucy Lindner tracks down a ball as teammate Macey Schmoeger looks on during a match against Auburndale in the Hodag volleyball invite at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium Saturday, Sept. 30. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Rhinelander fell behind early again in the opening set against Auburndale, trailing 9-3 and could not recover in a 25-11 loss. The second set went back and forth and was tied at 19 before the Eagles went on a 8-2 run to seal it. 

The Hodags then ran into a buzzsaw against Shawano, the No. 9 team in Division 2 in the latest Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association poll. The Hawks overpowered Rhinelander in a 25-7, 25-7 sweep.

“Their middles were very impressive,” Wolter noted about the team that could likely be the No. 1 seed in the Hodags’ half sectional for the WIAA tournament. “Their ball control was just as good too. That’s what you can do with an in-system ball. Their setters always seemed to have their three options in the front. It’s hard to stop when they’re running good offense and they’re passing the ball well.”

Rhinelander closed with a 25-17, 25-16 loss against Green Bay Southwest. The Hodags were down 16-9 at one point in the first set, got back to within 17-16 only to end on a 8-1 run for the Trojans. Southwest used a 10-4 run midway through the second set to build a commanding 20-10 lead. 

Beran had 12 kills to lead Rhinelander on Saturday and chipped in three blocks. Treder had 11 kills and 10 digs while Robinson chipped in nine kills. Lindner had 23 assists and Emma Chiamulera had a team-high 26 digs. 

The Hodags (13-17, 1-6 Great Northern) will host Tomahawk tonight in GNC play.

“We know their middles are good middles. We’ll prepare for them and put a good game plan together,” Wolter said.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].