Volleyball Game Preview: Lakeland Thunderbirds vs. Rib Lake Redmen

The Lakeland Thunderbirds will head out on the road to take on the Rib Lake Redmen at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Lakeland will head out to face Rib Lake after giving up their first home loss of the season on Tuesday. The Thunderbirds came up short against Mosinee, falling 3-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Thunderbirds have suffered since September 21, 2024.

While Lakeland was kept off the board, it wasn't for a lack of trying: they cut into Mosinee's winning margin in every set. The match finished with set scores of 25-8, 25-15, 25-19.

Rib Lake extended their winning streak to three games thanks to a huge performance from Tahlia Scheithauer. The Redmen came within a single set of losing the streak, but they secured a 3-2 W against Phillips for which the team can thank Scheithauer, who had 25 digs and one assist. She has been hot recently, having posted 18 or more digs the last four times she's played.

Rib Lake had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first two sets, they turned around to win the next three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 19-25, 23-25, 25-12, 25-22, 15-7.

Rib Lake's victory bumped their record up to 26-7. As for Lakeland, their loss dropped their record down to 17-9.

Lakeland skirted past Rib Lake 3-2 when the teams last played back in October of 2024. Will the Thunderbirds repeat their success, or do the Redmen have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.