Volleyball Recap: Rhinelander Takes a Loss

Rhinelander was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their sixth straight defeat. They came up short against the Merrill Bluejays, falling 3-0. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Hodags of the 3-0 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in October of 2024.

The match finished with set scores of 25-19, 25-16, 25-14.

Olivia Ruetz paced Rhinelander's offense, picking up five kills. Ruetz got some help from Kylie Treder and her eight assists. Kayla Skubal controlled things from the service line, finishing with two aces.

Merrill can attribute much of their success to Avery Hoock, who had seven digs and three aces. That's the most aces Hoock has posted over her last six matchups.

Rhinelander's defeat dropped their record down to 2-29. As for Merrill, with the win, they broke their three-match losing streak and moved their record to 13-13.

Coming up, after both having extra time off, Rhinelander and Hurley will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court against one another at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. As for Merrill, they have already played their next contest, a 3-0 victory against Stratford on the 9th.