All positive in Rib Lake camp as Weik takes over program
RIB LAKE VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW
The normal routine is back, the normal schedule is back and most of the players are back.
There is one obvious difference, however, when it comes to Rib Lake volleyball as the 2021 season gets underway and that is the absence of Barb Anderson, who quietly stepped aside in the offseason after 37 years leading the team.
A familiar face to many in Rib Lake takes over as Heather Weik, a volleyball player at the school in the late 1990s and daughter of another local coaching legend, Terry Voltz, has accepted the challenge of leading a program that has some work to do to return to contender status in the Marawood Conference.
It’s early, of course, with the season being less than two weeks old. But so far, life is good in the gym.
“It’s been a learning process, but it’s been really, really fun,” Weik said Wednesday, the morning after earning her first win as a head coach. “The girls are so positive and sweet and they work so well together. They really do make a good team and there’s that big group of seniors that are really good leaders for the underclassmen. That’s really helped me. They’ve been so supportive of me coming in, new and learning the ropes.”
“We’ve definitely been pushed but we’re still taking that and doing so good with it,” senior setter Molly Heiser said at practice on Friday. “We’re working really hard.”
No matter who was coaching, the team couldn’t wait to get back into the gym. One of the reasons they were excited to get started was an eagerness to wipe away memories of a tough 2020 season where they had no summer preparation due to COVID restrictions, a late start to the season, a mid-season team quarantine and no wins in just seven matches played.
The other main reason is, they just like being with each other.
“I’m glad things are going back to normal,” senior libero Kyla Kennedy said. “That might be what I’m most excited for. It didn’t even feel like a season last year to be honest. It was just weird.”
“Everyone is connecting this year,” senior Reagan Reinhardt said. “With the varsity team, we’ve been playing with each other since elementary school.”
“We’re an incredibly close group,” Kennedy said.
Weik has been Rib Lake’s middle school coach the past few years and actually coached the current varsity group when they were in middle school. Attendance limits in gyms last fall prevented her from seeing them play last year, but it hasn’t taken long to re-establish coach/player relationships.
“They’re learning how I run things and I think they’re adjusting really well to the changes and that’s really helpful,” Weik said. “They’re taking those changes, and the older girls are still doing a good job of leading and encouraging the younger girls.”
Longtime assistant coach Teri Iverson is back as well, helping maintain a level of familiarity in the program.
“I played for both Teri Iverson and Barb, so it’s super fun connecting with Teri again and working with her as a co-coach,” Weik said. “I’ve learned so much from Barb too these last few years as I was kind of thinking about the possibility of taking over. I give her all the credit in the world for my knowledge of volleyball.
“(Anderson) had 37 years under her belt and it’s really kind of neat. I’m looking forward to the challenge but I’m also stepping into some big shoes.”
Building a culture of aggressiveness, effort and positivity has been a key topic for Weik and the team in the early going.
“We want to have a positive attitude,” senior Emma Winter said. “We want to motivate each other. We want to give 110% and hustle and communicate. I feel like when we have our culture, we’re having fun because of what we hold each other to.”
“That’s been our main focus, working on our culture and building a positive culture among our teammates and in the school so that when we do get down, we can build ourselves back up real quick and be positive and be good models for working at 110%, showing good hustle and having that be the expectation,” Weik said.
This summer, the Redmen were able to start building some chemistry by returning to summer league play in Marathon and their typical in-house summer programs. While there may be nowhere to go but up after last year, the seniors said there was no question in summer league play that the team is getting better. The eight-member senior class includes Emily Rodman, Megan Yanko, Lauren Pelnis and Hannah Schuh, along with Reinhardt, Kennedy, Winter and Heiser. Kennedy earned honorable mention in the Marawood Conference and starts the year as the libero. Heiser is the setter. Pelnis and Winter join junior Rhonnie Jo Scheithauer as the team’s outside hitters. Emily Rodman and junior Kamryn Annala are penciled in as right side hitters. Reinhardt and Yanko are filling back-row spots and Schuh will fill in wherever needed. The teams middles are sophomores Josie Scheithauer and Danielle Mann, who got tastes of varsity play with last year’s team. “So far we have a couple of people in new positions,” Weik said. “They’re adjusting well and they’re working hard. We’re really realizing that we have to on the attack. We’re working on our aggressiveness.” “We have so many players that could play like any spot,” Heiser said. “Summer league really helped us figure that out a little bit.” The Marawood Conference combined to play as one league last fall under the COVID revisions but returns to North and South Divisions this year. In the North, Phillips returns a good amount of talent from its strong 2020 team that got robbed of a potential state run due to a quarantine issue during the tournament. Athens, Prentice and Abbotsford are always tough to beat and Chequamegon had a successful alternate season in the spring.
The Marawood will get back to holding a three-meet crossover day on Saturday, Oct. 2 and a final crossover night in Marathon on Oct. 12.
After going 1-2 in Tuesday’s seasonopening Loyal Quad, the Lady Redmen will return to the court Saturday at the eight-team Marathon Invitational, which will give them another chance to measure themselves against some solid competition.
“I feel like we are going to be competitive,” Weik said. “I feel like we’re going to surprise a few people along the way. We’re working on our scrappiness. We want to be known as a scrappy team. We have that goal in mind. We want to be aggressive. I think all of that is going to come together. I think the girls are really excited. They get really excited during practices. (Tuesday) night they were just elated that we got a W under us. “I feel like they want to meet anybody,” she added. “They’re not scared of anybody. We talked about that. It’d be fun to face those teams again. We’re really concentrating on how we can grow.”
“I think it’s very important that we improve this year,” Kennedy said.
“It’s our last year, so we want to leave it all out there,” Heiser said.
