Volleyball Recap: Merrill Finds Playoff Glory Versus Shawano Community

Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Merrill walked away with it. They walked away with a 3-1 win over the Shawano Community Hawks on Tuesday. This was a revenge game for the Bluejays: when they faced off against the Hawks back in September, they had to take a 3-2 defeat.

Merrill had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 21-25, 26-24, 25-17, 25-18.

Gabby Wheeler

Digs

10/21/25 vs Shawano Community	11
10/11/25 vs Lakeland	7
10/11/25 vs Mosinee	3
10/09/25 vs Stratford	0
10/07/25 @ Rhinelander	3
+ 2 more games

Merrill was led to victory by Avery Hoock and Gabby Wheeler. Hoock had nine digs and four aces, while Wheeler had 11 digs and one assist. That's the most digs Wheeler has posted over her last seven matchups. Darby Bonnell also deserves some recognition as she served her first aces of the season.

They weren't the only good servers: Merrill was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 11 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in 13 consecutive contests.

Despite the loss, Shawano Community had strong showings from Jacey Cowden, who had 14 digs and three aces, and Julia Stuber, who had six digs and two aces.

Merrill now has a winning record of 16-15. As for Shawano Community, they have been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 15-23 record this season.

Merrill has already played their next matchup, a 3-0 defeat against Mosinee on the 23rd. Shawano Community does not have any more games scheduled as of now.