Team review: RHS volleyball

While Rhinelander High School volleyball coach Jayme Wyss hoped her squad would look vastly different at the end of the 2025 season than it did at the start, little could have prepared her or the Hodags for the tough hand they were dealt much of the season.

Already with a young varsity roster, the Hodags suffered key injuries during the course of the season and struggled as a result. 

After several seasons of incremental gains for the program, 2025 ended up being a step back — at least in the varsity win-loss column — as the team went 3-33 and winless in the Great Northern Conference.

Despite the struggles during the season, Wyss said she was optimistic — especially with a roster full of underclassmen —that the experience will serve the program well moving forward. Last month, at the team’s banquet, Wyss said adaptation was the keyword for the season, as the team had to adjust to a roster that seemed to be constantly changing.

“I’m incredibly proud of all of this team has endured, persevered and overcome this season,” she said. “I do not believe that our record adequately reflects this team ability, but the record is what it is. More importantly, the value of these girls as individuals cannot be found on results streets or stats. I greatly appreciate the way that they treated one another and how well they handled adversity.” 

Here are five storylines from the recently completed season. 

Young and injured

The dominoes started to fall for the squad even before the start of the season, as senior Libbey Buchmann — the team’s lone returning all-conference player from 2024 — battled through a knee injury. 

After struggling with mobility in early practices and matches, Buchmann opted for season-ending knee surgery, which she underwent in early September. Not only did that leave Rhinelander without its top attacker from last year, but a player it felt was likely going to take over the role as the team’s primary setter.

Junior Ava Rathbun, who came in off a strong offseason, had evolved into Rhinelander’s go-to hitter early in the season, but went down with what turned out to be a season-ending ankle injury. 

With those two out of the equation, Rhinelander rotation was primarily comprised of two seniors, two juniors and five freshmen. Eventually, three sophomores were called up from the junior varsity squad to help fill some voids.

“We started with three seniors, three juniors and five freshmen,” Wyss said during the banquet. “Many of the freshmen were expected to play both JV and varsity games just for more development and playing time. And then it was official. Libbey would be out for ACL surgery. Our only all conference player from the season prior and our strongest leader on the team. The girl that was supposed to fill is bottom the floor full time. So we adapted. Our girls as little shifted and roles changed, we moved forward and two seniors rooms. Then at Wautoma, Ava went down, and that marked the end of season. Another full time player, our loudest energy on the floor. So we adapted.”

Struggles closing

Rhinelander picked up its first win of the season in a three-set victory over Oshkosh North in the Friendship Tournament in Wisconsin Dells Aug. 28. Rhinelander’s next win wouldn’t come for nearly another month, when it defeated Bruce in the Phillips Invite Sept. 27. 

In between, the Hodags had some positives — taking a handful of opponents to decisive third sets in non-conference invites, and winning a set off Antigo in Great Northern Conference play — but struggled to get over the hump.  

“There’s good elements and I’m just going to have to remind myself a lot, we are young,” Wyss said after the Wisconsin Dells tournament. “We have a lot of work to do. But there’s a lot more hope than like having a bunch of seniors and being like, we got a lot of work to do. So there’s good and bad. I don’t know. I think it’s just going to be a tough build.”

Statbook

The Hodags had a number of young players in key roles this year. After Buchmann’s injury, the bulk of the setting duties went to a pair of freshmen — Kylie Treder and Addy Wiczek. Treder had the majority of opportunities in the timeshare and finished the season with a team-leading 258 assists.

Another freshman, Corynn Waksmonski, provided the team some needed height in the middle and led they squad with 25 blocks. Twins Maddie and Kenzie Paulson provided the team some additional depth in both the attack and the back row.

Following Rathbun’s injury another junior became Rhinelander’s go-to hitter, Olivia Ruetz. She led the squad with 117 kills on the season as she worked into a solidified role for the Hodags in the front row.

“After Ava went down, you were quick to say that you’d be willing to switch positions, if that was what the team needed,” Wyss said, addressing Ruetz’s willingness to move from the middle to the right side following Rathbun’s injury. “And while we held off until Ellie (Cummings) stepped up and improved in that role, your willingness to do whatever it takes was evident and appreciated.” 

Cummings, a sophomore, was one of three players the Hodags brought up during the course of the season, as she blossomed in the middle role for the Hodags. She made her varsity debut Oct. 2 at Medford with Ruetz out of the lineup due to illness, and recorded a team-high four kills in the match against the Raiders. 

The majority of Rhinelander’s experience was in the back row. Senior Tori Stella started as the team’s libero, until the injuries to Buchmann and Rathbun forced her into an all-around role. Another senior, Kayla Skubal, took over at libero mid-season and led the team with 330 digs — despite playing through a back injury much of the year. 

Best at the end

    In this Oct. 13, 2025 file photo, members for the Rhinelander High School volleyball team, from left to right, Kenzie Paulson, Corynn Waksmonski, Kylie Treder, Vayda Ives, Kayla Skubal, Maddie Paulson and Ava Rathbun, react after Rhinelander defeated Hurley in five sets in a non-conference volleyball match at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium. Though the Hodags had a long season, they played some of their best volleyball at the end — as evidenced by the Hurley win and taking a set from Mauston in the WIAA tournament. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

While there weren’t many highlights for the Hodags during the season, the team saved two of them for their final two matches. 

In its regular season finale Rhinelander fended off Hurley in five sets in a back-and-forth match at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium — taking the last set 15-9. 

Rhinelander carried that momentum into its playoff opener at Mauston. There the 12th-seeded Hodags were competitive in the first two sets, and then stole the third set from the fifth-seeded Golden Eagles before dropping the match in four sets.

“Our last two matches were some of the volleyball, we had played all season. We played with intensity, we played as a team,” Wyss said.

What’s next

The good news for Rhinelander is the majority of squad will be back next year — with the team only graduating Buchmann, Skubal and Stella from the varsity roster.

The team still figures to be relatively young. Rathbun, Ruetz and Cassidy Lindner are the three juniors due back. Cummings, Mady Treder and Vayda Ives are sophomores due back, along with the team’s five freshmen. 

“I know a lot of the girls plan on playing club and it’s exciting because, since I’d already lost Libbey early on, I’m only losing two back row players,” Wyss said. “I could shift just within my own team and we could be fine without adding anybody, in theory. Of course there’s always girls that I’m looking at and willing to consider.”

That will be the biggest question going into next year, as Wyss continues to try to rebuild the volleyball program from the ground up. In addition to travel teams at the fourth-through-eighth-grade levels, there will be 14U and 15U club opportunities for the returning players this winter as well. 

This year’s freshman class made an immediate impact and, at the banquet, Wyss hinted that some of next year’s freshmen are also poised to content for roster spots right away.

“The volleyball program at Rhinelander will be more competitive,” she said. “I know what is coming up next year, so if you are hoping to play on a higher level team or have more playing time, then you should know that if you’re not willing to put any extra work, don’t expect different results.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].