Team Preview: RHS volleyball

After a 12-27 campaign last year and two wins in Great Northern Conference — the latter being the most for the squad since 2017 — the Rhinelander High School volleyball team looks to take another step forward this season.

The Hodags will begin that quest today as they travel to the Stevens Point Invite. Rhinelander has a relatively young squad, led by three juniors and three seniors, that second-year coach Jayme Wyss feels will continue to develop as the season progresses.

“The flow in the chemistry is really, really good. So I feel like that’s probably our biggest strength this year,” she said. “I know we have a lot of work to do, but I feel like the team dynamic of how well they play together is going to go a long way.”

The Hodags return their lone all-GNC selection from last year with senior Libbey Buchmann. She proved to be a versatile player for the Hodags last year, leading the squad in kills (208), attacking percentage (.125) and serving percentage (.960), while ranking second on the squad in assists (107), second in digs (279) and third in total blocks (25). 

Buchmann has been slowed by a knee injury this offseason, which may hinder her playing time some at the start of the season, but she still figures to play a prominent role and may take over the primary setter position vacated by the graduation of Lucy Lindner. 

“Libbey will set and hit, just because she’s consistent, great hands, communicates really well, just always puts herself in a good position and makes something really great out of it usually,” Wyss said.

    In this Sept. 10, 2024 file photo, Rhinelander libero Tori Stella bumps the ball ahead of teammate Kayla Skubal (6) during the second set GNC volleyball match against Antigo at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium. Stella and Skubal are two of the three seniors retuning for the Hodag varsity team this fall. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

The Hodags return four other letter winners from last year squad, led by seniors Tori Stella and Kayla Skubal. Stella served as Rhinelander’s libero and led the team in digs (382). Skubal was fifth in that category (132) while primarily playing in the back row.

Juniors Cassidy Lindner and Ava Rathbun also return. Cassidy Lindner was fourth on the team in digs (165) and second in serving percentage (.916) last year. Rathbun recorded 42 kills last season and is second among returning players behind Buchmann in that category. 

“I have three seniors who lettered last year, strong players, strong leaders,” Wyss said. “You have Cassidy, who’s now playing all the way around, she’s actually at some front row action, just because she adapts really well. She can actually jump really high, and she has a really good mindset. She’s somebody that you like having on the court. Ava is coming back super strong, love her, she’s getting more dynamic play. She actually has a cemented role this year where last year she was a relief (player) everywhere. So it’s nice to be able to have her really step into a leadership role.”

Junior Olivia Ruetz figures to have a more prominent role in the rotation as a middle this year after seeing sparse action last year. 

Behind that the Hodags are hoping for an impact from a large incoming freshmen class, five of whom made it through tryouts earning at least part-time action on varsity. Corynn Waksmonski will likely be an opposing figure for teams to hit around in the front row, twins Maddie and McKenzie Paulson will be scrappy all-around players and Kylie Treder and Addy Wiczek will add depth for the Hodags at the setter position. 

“The freshman class was really strong, which we knew coming in. A lot of them played winter, spring, summer. I have a lot of freshmen, but I have a lot of really strong freshmen … I feel like they outworked (others) and are out playing as a result,” Wyss said.

Great Northern Conference play for the Hodags kicks off Sept. 4 at home against Tomahawk. It will be part of a new-look conference format this season. With the addition of an eighth team, Merrill, into the mix, teams will play each other only once during the regular season and then converge for a three-match conference tournament Oct. 11 at Northland Pines. 

Regardless of the format, Wyss said defending co-champs Mosinee and Medford are still the teams to beat in the conference. 

“They have the conference players of the year from last year. So they have that going for them,” Wyss said, noting the return of Mosinee’s Bridget Frye and Medford’s Kayla Baumgartner.

As for the rest of the GNC, Wyss said she is optimistic regarding how the Hodags will fare, given the way her squad sparred with a number of conference foes during the Merrill Summer League. 

Rhinelander is looking for its first winning record since 2015, when it went 7-5 in league play. 

“I hope we just kind of work our way up and we fight everybody really hard,” Wyss said. “I hope that by time we hit playoffs, we are stronger than we are now. That’s always a goal. I hope we look like a different team. I hope we make teams notice us, and I think last year there was already teams that were like, ‘OK, something’s changing. Something’s different.’

“Things are changing in Rhinelander. I know there’s talk around town about that because I’ve had adults — parents of kids who aren’t even part of the high school program — who are like, ‘It’s different. I’ve heard good things. It’s exciting.’ Or, like, ‘I didn’t want to coach before, but now I want to be a part of it.’ I just want it to show on the scorebook, too.”

The Tomahawk match will also be Rhinelander’s first of six home dates this year. Rhinelander will host Lakeland Sept. 16, Amherst and Prentice in a non-conference triangular Sept. 18, Northland Pines Sept. 30, Merrill Oct. 7 and Hurley Oct. 13. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].