Hilltopper Volleyball: Will passion and drive be the keys to their success?
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2020 GLENWOOD CITY High School Volleyball teams are shown in the above picture. The squads will began regular season play on September 15. Front row (sitting L to R): Seniors Maddie Oehlke, Yasmin Mendez, Bella Rassbach, Kristin Dayton and Hailey Schmidt. Second row (L to r): Aria DeSmith, Elizabeth Dayton, Devynn Olson, Alex Peterson, Lillie Rutske, Sydney Grant, Whitney Wittmer and Sakari Beaman. Third row (L to R): Nikki Multauf, Madison Caress, Maddie Klatt, Eliza Voeltz, Aubrey Logghe, Avery Rubenzer, Kloe Dahl, Ellery Unser, Isabel Christmas and Emma Lamb. Back row (L to R): Ryeah Oehlke, Allaina Johnson, Libby Wagner, Michaela Blaser, Chloe Wittmer, Maddie Booth, Ally Fouks and Mali Draxler.
—photo by Shawn DeWitt
By Missy Klatt
Sports Correspondent
GLENWOOD CITY — Second-year Glenwood City head coach Nicole Miller has a very positive attitude as the volleyball season is finally getting underway for the Hilltoppers.
“Coming into my second year as head coach I am very excited to continue to see the progress and strength the program is having. The passion and drive our athletes show coming into this season is going to push them to fight for every ball and point on the court they can!!”
In her first year as head coach, Miller boasted a 4-3 record in conference play. Those on last year’s team that graduated were Makiah Schutz, Brandi Standaert, Kassidi Thompson and Mae Buttles. The loss of these four means a loss of a strong setter, hitters and servers.
Fortunately for the Toppers, their returning letter winners, Bella Rassbach, Kristin Dayton, Maddie Oehlke and Yazmin Mendez, all have varsity experience playing together on the court. They also bring back strong volleyball skills.
Joining them on varsity this year will be sophomores Devynn Olson, Alex Peterson and Eliza Voeltz and freshman Ryeah Oehlke. Miller stated that these girls bring great diverse talent to the team.
“Peterson, who played the last two matches on varsity with us last year, is a great defensive player who we will see great saves and digs from this season. Voeltz and Olson who also played with us at the end of the season last year bring in hitting talent and the ability to swing in any position on the court. Ryeah Oehlke comes up as a freshman who already has years of club and school volleyball experience. She also has setting experience which helps fill the setter position we lost along with the ability to also hit from any position on the court. All our newcomers also have strong serves and the ability to read the ball which will add even more strength to our team as a whole.”
Due to the Coronavirus, the girls weren’t able to play together at all this summer which Coach Miller sees as a bit of a setback. Miller commented that the challenge this year will be finding a way for the girls to mesh well on the court together as a team. However, she stated that they have a very positive attitude coming into the season.
As for goals this season, Miller would like to see the team improve their serving statistics along with focusing on ways to win matches.
Miller sees Colfax, who has won seven straight Dunn-St. Croix championships, and Elk Mound as the toughest competition this year. She credits them with strong programs and players who are returning with experience.
As with all sports this year, the schedule is very different this year. Teams are only playing other teams in the Dunn-St. Croix conference. Each team will play the same team twice in the same week, once at home and once on the road. The Lady Toppers started the season last night, September 15th when they hosted Elmwood/Plum City. They will travel to Elmwood to take on EPC on Thursday, September 17th. Access to games is limited to players’ families. Please check with school for details.
2020 Roster
Seniors: Maddie Oehlke, Bella Rassbach, Yasmin Mendez, Kristin Dayton, Hailey Schmidt.
Junior: Isabel Christmas
Sophomores: Alex Peterson, Devynn Olson, Eliza Voeltz, Mali Draxler , Aria DeSmith, Aubrey Logghe, Lillie Rutske, Ellery Unser, Maddie Booth.
Freshmen: Ryeah Oehlke, Michaela Blaser, Allaina Johnson, Libby Wagner, Chloe Whitmer, Whitnie Whitmer, Avery Rubenzer, Maddie Klatt, Sydney Grant, Madison Caress, Nikki Multauf, Kloe Dahl, Sakari Beaman , Elizabeth Dayton.
Managers: Ally Fouks, Emma Lamb.