Lakeland volleyball sweeps Rhinelander

The Rhinelander High School volleyball team could not keep up with Lakeland Tuesday night, falling to the T-Birds in straight sets during Great Northern Conference play in Minocqua.

The Hodags faded late in each of the first two sets, falling 25-20, 25-19. Lakeland led nearly wire-to-wire in the third set, winning 25-18.

“We knew that they had some really hard swingers, so we were mentally prepared for that,” Hodag coach Jayme Wyss said. “In reality, we could’ve shut down, and the outcome could’ve been a lot worse. But I do believe that we could’ve taken a set from them as well. It just didn’t happen.”

In each of the first two sets, the Hodags were close beyond the halfway point, only to fade late. Lakeland took the lead at 5-4 in the first set and stretched the margin to 12-7. Each time Rhinelander got back within a point, Lakeland had an answer. Stina Peterson had a kill to make it 15-13, Marlee Strasburg had a kill to make it 17-15 and Sloane Timmerman but one away to make it 20-18. The Hodags got back to within two, down 22-20, but a Tori Stella service error led to a sideout and Lakeland accord the final two points on back-to-back Peterson kills.

Strasburg broke a 14-all tie for Lakeland in the second set and the T-Birds went on a 9-1 run from there to take control of the set. Rhinelander crept back to 23-19 on a Kesli Beran kill, but Peterson had another kill followed by a block by Ava Evenhouse and Lexi Beran to end the set. 

Lakeland took the lead at 3-1 in the third and never looked back, stretching the advantage to 17-10 at one point. Rhinelander made a mini push to get back within 20-16 but Lakeland ended the match on a 5-2 run.

Libbey Buchmann led the Hodags with eight kills on 20 attacks Tuesday. The junior also added a team-high 14 digs. Lucy Lindner had 16 assists and a pair of aces from the service line. Kelsi Beran had four kills and two blocks, Tori Stella added 10 digs while Cassidy Lindner chipped in eight digs and three aces from the service line.

“I felt like we did a tremendous job playing against them,” Wyss said. “The back row had a lot of great digs. We put up some big blocks. We talked and moved. We had some great serves. We would have stretches of errors where we just couldn’t climb out of the hole that we had dug ourselves in. We struggled on a serve here and there.”

Lakeland had nine aces in the match, led by Greta Johnson with four. Peterson had 11 kills to lead T-Birds.

    Lakeland volleyball coach Taylor Bruhl watches play during the second set of a GNC volleyball match against Rhinelander in Minocqua Tuesday, Sept. 17. Bruhl (nee Wissbroecker), a 2013 RHS alumna, won against the team she helped lead to a GNC title in 2012. (Brett LaBore/Lakeland Times)
  

The match was a homecoming of sorts for Lakeland head coach Taylor Bruhl (nee Wissbroecker) who was GNC player of the year in 2012 for the Hodags when they won their first and only conference title. 

The Minnesota-Duluth standout took over the Lakeland program prior to this season.

“It is weird not cheering for the Hodags. It hurts a little bit to beat them, but it would hurt more if we lost,” Bruhl said.

Rhinelander will be back in Minocqua Saturday ft the first round of the Great Northern Conference tournament. The Hodags will face Medford and then square off against Northland Pines. The Hodags got their first and only GNC win of last season against the Eagles and had a tight two-set loss to Pines in a non-conference match at the Ashland Invite Sept. 7.

“I know that Medford has been playing really well this year,” Wyss said. “Again, our goal is to take at least a set from every team in the conference. With Pines, we are hoping for a win. We know that no win is going to come easy. We have had a lot of weekends of volleyball. Every weekend since the season started in fact. I know that has been exhausting for everyone. But I also feel like it has given us a chance to learn a lot.”

Lakeland Times sports writer Brett LaBore contributed to this report from Minocqua.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].