WIAA DIV. 2 VOLLEYBALL - Raiders’ playoff run gets Railroaded in Altoona
WIAA DIV. 2 VOLLEYBALL
The Medford volleyball team’s 2024 season will be most remembered for a late regular-season run and huge win over Mosinee that secured a share of the Great Northern Conference title.
Unfortunately all of those good vibes of the previous couple of weeks left the Raiders at an inopportune time Thursday.
The third-seeded Altoona Railroaders knocked Medford on its heels early and the sixth-seeded Raiders just never got on track in a surprisingly quick 3-0 sweep in a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal.
The match was nothing like the Oct. 5 battle in the Eau Claire Memorial Invitational that went down to the last point with Altoona winning 15-13 in the decisive third game.
The Railroaders were simply better in all phases Thursday, whether it was serving, digging, passing and getting offense from a variety of sources. The win sent Altoona (25-13) to a Saturday regional final at second-seeded St. Croix Central, which it won 3-2. The Railroaders will host fourth-seeded St. Croix Falls in a sectional semifinal tonight, Thursday.
Medford’s best season record-wise since 2018 ended at 25-12.
Breeley Gluch stood out most in Altoona’s offensive attack. The senior outside hitter was dominant in the last two sets especially, hitting corners and hitting with power as the match progressed. She served four straight aces midway through set two when it was becoming apparent this might not be Medford’s night and she added two more aces to help salt away game three.
Game one was tied 3-3 when Altoona took the lead and began to separate. Lily Duquaine and Amber Bresina had three kills each in a run that made it 12-4 in favor of Altoona. The Raiders got as close as 16-12 and then 19-14 on an Aliyah Pilgrim ace, but Altoona finished on a 6-1 surge to take the opener 25-15.
A Taylor Klingbeil kill got Medford within 8-6 in the second set, when Gluch took over with two kills and her run of aces that made it 16-7. It was 23-8 before Kayla Baumgartner got a kill and the Raiders went on a last-ditch run with Shayla Radlinger serving. Klingbeil and Baumgartner had two kills each to get the Raiders within 24-14, but Altoona got the next point for a 2-0 match lead.
Baumgartner’s winner off an attempted block gave Medford its last lead of set three at 5-4. Gluch had two hard kills, a roll and a perfectly-placed shot to the corner that made it 15-9. Her aces opened up a 19-10 lead and libero Brayln Siverling added an ace at 21-11. The Rails won the set 25-12.
Baumgartner had 10 kills in the defeat and two total blocks. Toryn Rau had four kills and Klingbeil added three. Radlinger had four total blocks and Klingbeil had three.
Finley Arndt had 13 assists, while Megan Schaefer added four. Rylee Hraby had the team’s only ace and 10 digs. Arndt had five digs, while Baumgartner and Schaefer had four each. Medford had just one service error in 41 attempts.
“Altoona played great,” Medford head coach Ashley Jochimsen-McCarron said. “It was a bummer to lose. We weren’t ready to be done. But we have so much to be proud of this season.”
The Great Northern Conference cochampions will graduate four seniors –– Radlinger, Rau, Schaefer and Amelia Pernsteiner. Radlinger, Rau and Schaefer earned All-GNC honorable mention.
The rest of a solid varsity roster could return for another run in 2025, including Baumgartner, who was named the GNC’s co-Player of the Year on Monday.
