Hodag Highlights: Tennis and volleyball post mixed results

The Rhinelander High School volleyball team suffered a pair of losses last week, falling to Medford on Thursday and Mosinee Northland Pines in a home match that featured an emotional moment for senior Libbey Buchmann.
Buchmann, who underwent ACL surgery less than a month ago that ended her season, was given the honor of serving to open the Pines match. She made it count, drilling an ace down the line for a point. However, her second serve went to Pines for a point, and Buchmann’s brief return to the court was complete.
The Hodags struggled against Pines, dropping the match in straight sets 25-14, 25-11 and 25-8. Kylie Treder and Addy Wiczek each recorded three assists, while senior Kayla Skubal led the defensive effort with 13 digs.
The road trip to Medford proved equally difficult as Rhinelander fell in three competitive sets: 25-12, 25-13 and 25-12.
The Rhinelander High School tennis team secured a narrow 4-3 victory over Wisconsin Rapids on Tuesday, Sept. 30 in their final match before subsectional competition.

The Hodags dominated doubles play, sweeping all three matches. The top doubles team of Teagan Turcotte and Maddie LeGrey rallied after dropping the first set 6-2, winning the second set 6-3 before taking the tiebreaker 10-5.
Eva Heck and Willow VanDenHeuvel made quick work of their opponents at No. 2 doubles, cruising to a 6-0, 6-1 victory. The No. 3 doubles duo of Willow Mutter and Addy Currie completed the sweep with a commanding 6-0, 6-0 win.
In singles action, Lucy Evers provided the Hodags’ lone point with a victory at No. 4 singles. Anna VanderGalien fell at No. 1 singles 6-1, 6-0, while Jordan Manske dropped her No. 2 singles match 6-2, 6-3. Taylor McKinney battled at No. 3 singles but came up short 6-4, 6-4. Rhinelander was set to compete in subsectional play Monday at Wausau West. That event took place after this edition went to press.