Team review: RHS volleyball

The Rhinelander High School volleyball team continued to make small, incremental gains in 2024 under first-year head coach Jayme Wyss that the team hopes will eventually lead it back to being a contender in the Great Northern Conference.

That progress came in fits and starts during 2024 as the Hodags went 12-27 overall. The overall mark was a slight step back from the team’s 13-23 mark in 2023, albeit with a stronger non-conference schedule this season.

Progress mainly came within the GNC, where the Hodags went 2-10 this season and took nine sets. That was up from a 1-11 mark and five set wins last year. The two wins in conference play were the most for Rhinelander since 2017.

“While we have a long ways to go, and it doesn’t happen overnight, we are moving in the right direction,” Wyss said earlier this month during the team’s banquet. 

Even in set losses, the Hodags had some promising moments. They played competitive sets with Mosinee at the final conference tournament in a match Mosinee had to win to clinch a share of the conference title and though Merrill swept the Hodags out of the WIAA tournament, the Hodags held the lead at some point in each of the three sets.

“There were great moments and (we need to) be proud of those great moments,” Wyss said after the Merrill match. “I feel like that’s our season a nutshell. We didn’t have the outcome we wanted but we had really great moments.”

Here are five storylines from the recently completed season.

Growing pains

The Hodags got off to a bit of a slow start, winning just one match at the Stevens Point Invite. That was followed by one win and a 16th-place finish in the Friendship Tournament in Wisconsin Dells. 

Though Rhinelander took a set from Tomahawk and Antigo in the first two conference matches, the Hodags struggled to get into the win column until taking a pair of matches in the Ashland Invite Sept. 7 and three matches at the Wautoma Invite.

The Hodags added two more wins in an invite Sept. 28 in Phillips, but suffered close losses to Phillips and Prentice which had Wyss believing her team was on the cusp of a breakthrough, if it could limit its unforced errors. 

“I believe that we had a shot at winning it,” Wyss said afterward. “We were so tight with the top teams, we just couldn’t come away with a win. Except Florence, we should have done better there. That seems to be the theme of the season. It’s like we have all this progress but just can’t come away with a W in the end.” 

Sweeping Pines

The Hodags were able to do that, for the most part, against Northland Pines. After splitting conference meetings with the Eagles last year — and snapping a 62-match conference losing streak in the process — Rhinelander got by Northland Pines in four sets in both meetings between the squads this year. 

Rhinelander beat the Eagles in four sets at the GNC tournament in Lakeland Sept. 21 and followed that up with a road win in Eagle River 10 days later. 

“That’s just exciting. We knew that we could do it and I just feel like it’s nice to be able to come in knowing you can do it, and actually execute,” Wyss said afterward. 

Best at the end

Rhinelander seemed to play its best volleyball toward the end of the season. The Hodags had Mosinee on the ropes in the conference tournament, eventually dropping the second set 25-22 as part of a three-set loss. Rhinelander took another set from Tomahawk, rallying from down nine points to do it, three days later and closed out the regular season with a three-set win at Crandon. 

Rhinelander had moments in its playoff opener against Merrill were it appeared poised to steal at least a set from the Bluejays. Rhinelander was up 19-17 late in the first set, raced out to a 7-0 lead in the second and lost a long rally down 9-7 in the third that ended up being the turning point of the final set. 

Regardless, Wyss said the finale was one of the cleanest matches Rhinelander played all season. The Hodags hit at a .098 clip in the match and had only four service errors compared to eight aces. 

“That was one of our best matches offensively,” Wyss said. “We had talked about the importance of playing clean and not giving our opponents so many point with our own errors. We can spar with a lot of good teams, but I felt what was had been killing us a lot was we just made more mistakes.” 

Statbook

    In this Oct. 17, 2024 file photo, Rhinelander’s Libbey Buchmann attempts to hit through a double block during a non-conference volleyball match at Crandon. Buchmann led the Hodags in total kills and serve percentage and finished in the top three in a majority of statistical categories for Rhinelander. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Though the Hodags did not give out an MVP award at their team banquet, a strong case could be made that junior Libbey Buchmann was the team’s top all-around player. She earned second-team honors in the GNC this fall, the first Hodag player to be named second team or better since 2017. 

Buchmann led the team in kills (208), was second in hitting percentage (.125), second in assists (107), second in digs (279) and third in total blocks (25). Additionally she was the most efficient server on the team (.960) and tied for third on the squad with 37 aces.

Buchmann’s impact may have been most felt went she left a home match against Mosinee Sept. 24 due to a shoulder issue. The Hodags were down 9-8 in the first set when she subbed out. She played only a handful of points the remainder of the match and the Hodags were outscored 67-20 over the final two-plus sets.

“It’s not just losing Libbey’s ability. It’s the affect it has on the whole team dynamic,” Wyss said after that match. “She’s the one who gets hyped. She’s always encouraging. You need that person to be out there as a leader too.” 

Senior Lucy Lindner was the team’s top setter (385 assists), had a team-best .170 attacking percentage and led the team with 52 service aces. Senior Kelsi Beran was the team’s top blocker (32) and was second on the team in kills (143). Junior libero Tori Stella led the way defensively on the season with 382 digs. 

What’s next

The Hodags will graduate Lucy Lindner, Kelsi Beran and fellow front row players Callie Hoerchler and Macey Schmoeger from this year’s squad. Rhinelander will return some key pieces in Buchmann, Stella, back row players Cassidy Lindner, Kayla Skubal and Reese Retallick and front line reserves Lexi Beran and Ava Rathbun. 

Between the returning players, a solid JV squad, a good incoming eighth-grade class and a full offseason program, Wyss said she expects the Hodags to take another step forward in 2025. During the banquet, she implored her players to make gains in the offseason.

“The volleyball program at Rhinelander will become more competitive, so if you’re hoping to play on a higher level team next year, or have more playing time, then you should know if you’re not willing to put in the extra work, you shouldn’t expect different results,” she said. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].