Hodag volleyball drops three matches at GNCs

The Rhinelander High School volleyball team lost all three matches it played Saturday in the Great Northern Conference tournament in Medford. The Hodags were swept by Antigo, Lakeland and Mosinee in the tournament as they dropped to 2-9 in the conference with one more conference match remaining.

“Tough day.  (We) played as quiet individuals most of the day,” Hodag coach Jayme Wyss said. “Good first set against Antigo, and good playing against Mosinee. We still lost but it was finally fun volleyball.”

Though Mosinee clinched a share of the GNC title thanks to its 25-14, 25-22, 25-15 sweep of the Hodags, Rhinelander played its best match at the end of the day against the Indians. The Hodags led late in the second set and stayed with Mosinee until a late run in the third. 

The Hodags fell behind early in the first set against Mosinee 10-3. The Hodags got back wishing four at 11-17, but Mosinee used a 7-0 run to take control and eventually pulled away to an 11-point win.

Things were much more interesting in the second as the Hodags led by as many as 9-2 early in the set and still held a 14-8 advantage before Mosinee inched back. Mosinee took a brief lead at 16-15, but the Hodags traded points until 21-all when Mosinee answered with a 4-1 run to close out the set. 

That momentum carried into the early part of the third set, where the Hodags were tied 13-all before Mosinee ended things with a 12-2 run.

The Mosinee match came on the heels of a 25-9, 25-13, 25-13 loss to Lakeland. Wyss admitted she was frustrated by what she saw in the match against the T-Birds, which ultimately served as a rallying cry for the finale against Mosinee. 

“Honestly, (I) called them out on their poor teamwork after the second match,” she said. “My greatest frustration was with how I repeatedly said they need to talk, but they didn’t. To me that says, ‘I don’t care.’ They weren’t playing like a team. They needed to think about what they wanted before going against Mosinee and commit to one another so they could be proud at the end of how they played. Before Mosinee, I asked what they wanted.”

The Hodags lost the opening match against Antigo 25-20, 25-15, 25-16. The first set was the most competitive of the three as the Hodags led 8-4 early before Antigo answered with a 7-0 run to take the lead for good. The Hodags got within 22-19 late but Antigo scored three of the last four points to take the set. Antigo went up 10-4 early in the second and used an 8-0 run to break a 12-all tie in the third.

Libbey Buchmann paced the attack for the Hodags with 20 kills. She also led the team in the back row with 34 digs.

Kelsi Beran had 17 kills for Rhinelander and added three blocks, while Macey Schmoeger had nine kills and three blocks. Lucy Lindner had 37 assists and added three service aces. 

Tori Stella finished with 31 digs for the Hodags, who also got back row contributions from Cassidy Lindner (24 digs) and Kayla Skubal (23 digs).

The Hodags have two more matches to close out the regular season, beginning tonight with the GNC and home finale against Tomahawk at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium. The Hodags lost to the Hatchets in four sets in Tomahawk back in early September.

“We’re gunning for Tomahawk. We could tie for fifth in conference if we beat them,” Wyss said. “They have a great middle that we will gang up on. We had some of our best blocks against Mosinee so that was huge.”

Rhinelander will then hit the road Thursday for a non-conference match against Crandon. The Hodags lost to the Cardinals in five sets when the teams met at the end of last season. 

“Crandon we want no doubt,” Wyss said. “Three Lakes beat them and we beat Three Lakes. Not saying it will be easy but we can do it.”

The WIAA playoffs begin a week from tonight. The pairings in Rhinelander’s 12-team regional Division 2 are due to be announced this week.  

Jeremy Mayo may be 

reached at jeremy@

rivernewsonline.com.