On Tuesday, Sept. 18 the Rhinelander volleyball team traveled to Medford for their sixth GNC contest of the 2012 season. After going undefeated in the first round of the GNC tournament, the Lady Hodags found themselves with sole possession of first place in the conference. Loaded with confidence, Rhinelander came into the match up looking to continue their hot streak. They knew if they played their style of volleyball they had the ability to beat anyone. The Lady Hodags were primed to battle the Raiders.

In the first game of the evening the Hodags dominated, winning 25-9 and setting the pace for the entire evening. While the second two games were slightly closer, the end results were the same as the Hodags took both contests 25-21 and 25-23 respectively.

Taylor Wissbroecker was dominant on the night, notching 18 kills and two blocks for the Hodags. Katie Berrell added 13 kills, and her sister, Lindsay, tacked on 40 assists. Katie and Lindsay Berrell, Megan Haug and Taylor Wissbroecker all had at least eight digs and the team only missed two serves on the evening, narrowing down one of their largest areas of difficulty from Saturday.

Speaking with junior Lexi Haug about the team’s performance on the evening, she is proud of her team’s abilities.

“I think that tonight we played some solid team volleyball,” Haug said. “Our first game we came out strong and everyone was cooperating and communicating really well. We need to keep working hard and bring that over to Thursday against Everest.”

Katie Berrell added that she was satisfied with the undefeated start to the conference season, and that the team’s hard work is continuing to pay off.

“It feels great to start off this way,” Berrell said. “The competition we are facing is only going to get better, and when we’re on with our passing and hitting, we’re a tough out. It’s nice to make our coaches proud; they’ve been looking forward to a year like this.”

Up next for the Lady Hodags is a home match up with the Tomahawk Hatchets on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at the Rhinelander High School in the Jim Miazga Community Gym.

Editor’s note: For more coverage of local sports, visit StarJournalNOW.com and HodagSports.com.