Raiders start by going 3-2 at Three Lakes

The Medford volleyball team opened its 2022 season Tuesday by winning three of five matches at the six-team Three Lakes Invitational.

For six of the nine Raiders who saw action, it was their first varsity competition outside of Saturday’s scrimmages. It took a little while, but head coach Cheryl Schreiner said the group eventually found its footing.

“I felt we got better as the day went on,” she said. “I tried a few different lineups and we settled into the one that beat South Shore and Three Lakes.”

The Raiders opened the day by sweeping Gresham 25-21, 25-21. They got bumped by Prentice in round two of the round-robin tournament 25-13, 25-20.

Medford escaped a close first game with South Shore, winning 29-27, and it closed out a sweep of the Cardinals with a 25-14 win in set two.

The best match of the day came against the host Blue Jays. The Raiders took the first set 25-21, lost the second 25-20 and won a thrilling third set 15-13 to take the win.

Another set of Blue Jays, this time from Athens, swept Medford 25-15, 25-16 to close out the day.

Martha Miller was Medford’s kill leader with 18. Sophomore Shayla Radlinger stepped into the varsity lineup and notched 11 kills. Allie Paulson had eight, Rachel Wesle had seven and Delaney Hraby added six.

Sophomore setter Megan Schaefer served up 12 aces during the day. Hraby and Miller had four each, while Radlinger and Paulson added three apiece.

After facing teams from smaller schools on Tuesday, the competition will get a notch or two higher this weekend at the 40-team Menomonie Sprawl held at UW-Stout. The Raiders will start play at 8:30 a.m. Friday in a pool that includes Oshkosh West, Hudson, Grantsburg and Cadott. Pools on Saturday will be determined by Friday’s results.

Medford opens Great Northern Conference play Sept. 1 at Lakeland.