Raiders finish 4th in GNC, will host Antigo in WIAA play

MEDFORD VOLLEYBALL

The Medford Raiders got two-thirds of the way through a big comeback Tuesday night but they couldn’t quite finish it off, falling in the fifth set 15-5 to host Lakeland to close out Great Northern Conference and regular-season play for 2023.

Medford rallied from an 0-2 hole with 25-19 and 28-26 wins to send the match to the fifth game. But Lakeland broke away from an early 2-2 tie in the decider with a 9-1 run that sent the T-Birds on their way to an 8-4 finish in the GNC, good for third place in the final standings behind Tomahawk (9-3) and Mosinee (12-0).

The Raiders would’ve tied Lakeland for third with a win but instead settled for fourth place at 6-6, one game ahead of 5-7 Antigo, who will be Medford’s opponent Tuesday in the opening round of the WIAA Division 2 tournament. The ninthseeded Red Robins will face the eighthseeded Raiders in Medford at 7 p.m. in a regional quarterfinal with the winner advancing to an Oct. 19 regional semifinal at top-seeded Shawano.

Medford and Antigo split 3-1 decisions this season in GNC competition.

Tuesday’s well-played match saw Medford playing some of its best volleyball of the season at times with hitting production from several sources and determined digging and saving from the back row that kept many rallies alive.

“We had some really good high movements,” Medford head coach Ashley Jochimsen-McCarron said. “Riley Hraby and Aliyah Pilgrim were digging balls and chasing things down to allow us to make some big plays. Finley Arndt jumped out in game four to get us a big lead.

“In game five we just couldn’t get our out-of-system plays to fall and run our offense.”

In the opener, the Raiders turned a 10-5 deficit into a 13-12 lead that grew to 16-14 on an Aliyah Pilgrim kill, a 17-15 lead on a Toryn Rau tip, a 19-17 lead on a Kayla Baumgartner kill and a 20-18 lead on Rachel Wesle’s block. Unfortunately for Medford, the Thunderbirds turned things around with what wound up being one of the match’s biggest momentum swings, going on a 7-2 spurt to win the set 25-22.

Game two was tied 7-7 when Lakeland opened a small lead it never relinquished the rest of the way in a 25-20 win.

But Medford didn’t quit and controlled game three from the outset. A tough serve by Pilgrim led to Toryn Rau’s kill off a free ball and a 4-1 lead and Rau, soon after, served an ace off the top of the net for a 6-3 edge. Shayla Radlinger got a kill, Wesle tipped down a free ball, Cami Rau powered a winner off a block and Rylee Hraby served an ace to open up a 13-7 lead. Two Baumgartner kills made it 18-11, then she got two more kills to quiet a short run by the T-Birds and made it 21-16. Lakeland got the next three points, but Hraby’s serving run closed out a 25-19 Medford win. Finley Arndt’s serving run, which included backto- back aces got Medford out to a 6-0 lead to start game four. Medford led 18-11 after kills by Cami and Toryn Rau, but Lakeland got on a run behind the serving of Greta Johnson to get within 18-17. Toryn Rau drilled a kill through a Lakeland block and Pilgrim served an ace to briefly restore order, but Lakeland continued to serve and hit match point at 24-22. Kills by Radlinger and Cami Rau tied it and Hraby’s bump fell into open space on Lakeland’s side to put Medford ahead 25-24. The teams went back and forth until Arndt’s ace won it at 2826.

Two Megan Schaefer kills got game five started in Medford’s favor, but that’s when the comeback ran out of steam.

1-1 at GNC meet

Medford earned a split in its matches at Saturday’s second Great Northern Conference meet of the season. Held in Tomahawk, the Raiders gave GNC champion Mosinee an early push before the Indians pulled away for their second 3-1 win of the season over Medford.

In round two, Medford struggled with Northland Pines again but, for the second time this season, the Raiders came away with a five-set win over the Eagles.

Mosinee also swept Tomahawk and Rhinelander during the meet to clinch the program’s sixth conference championship in seven years. The Indians closed out their 12-0 league season Tuesday with a win at Pines.

Medford got the opening set in Saturday’s matchup with Mosinee, pulling away midway through and then holding off a late mini-rally by the Indians. Radlinger put away the clincher in a 25-23 win.

Medford had a lead very early in the second set, but once Mosinee found its footing it grabbed the lead and led the set for good the rest of the way in a 25-19 win. Mosinee took set three 25-21 and ended the match in game four with a 25-16 win.

Radlinger was Medford’s attack kill leader in the match with nine and she had a solo block. Baumgartner had eight kills and four solo blocks. Toryn Rau had six attack kills and five solo blocks and Cami Rau had five kills. Finley Arndt set up the hitters with 12 assists, while Schaefer had 11. Medford put 79 of 83 serves in play (95.2%) with seven aces. Pilgrim had three aces and Toryn Rau had two. Hraby led Medford with 21 digs.

While Pines finished in a last-place tie with Rhinelander at 1-11, the Eagles pushed the Raiders to the limit in both of their meetings.

In Saturday’s matchup, Medford got off to a good start, taking the first set 2518. But then things got ragged and the Eagles took advantage, winning the next two sets 25-17 and 26-24. Medford extended the match with a 25-21 set-four win and then held off Pines 15-12 in game five. Cami Rau had 12 kills in the win with a solo block. Baumgartner had 10 kills and three solo blocks. Radlinger had seven kills and two solo blocks and Toryn Rau had five kills and two solo blocks. Schaefer had 17 assists, Arndt had nine and Wesle had two.

Medford served well again, putting 106 of 113 serves in play (93.8%) with nine aces. Hraby had four of the aces and Arndt had two.

Hraby led the Raiders with 29 digs, Baumgartner had 10 and Arndt had nine.

Covered by Finley Arndt (11) and Megan Schaefer, Medford’s Toryn Rau tries to tip the volleyball past a Northland Pines middle blocker during a five-set match won by the Raiders Saturday at Tomahawk.BOB MAINHARDT/NORTHWOODS RIVER NEWS

Here is the WIAA Division 2 volleyball sectional halfbracket. First-round play is set for Tuesday, followed by the four regional semifinals on Oct.19 and the two regional finals on Saturday, Oct. 21. All post-season matches start at 7 p.m.