Talented Hornets to rely on seniors, new faces

The Colby Hornets volleyball team will be looking to reload and once again aim for the top of the Cloverbelt-East conference as they head into the 2025 season.

Last year’s senior-laden squad finished second in the conference and ended the season over .500 for the first time since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, putting together an impressive 24-9 season.

This year’s squad will have a very different look, with eight rotation players from last year’s team having graduated. First team all-conference selection Savana Thomsen, second-team all-conference award winner Lilly Brzezinski and most of the Hornets starters will need to have their positions replaced. A tall task for any program.

Luckily, the Hornets will still return the centerpiece of their attack last season, first-team all-conference outside hitter Daelyn Rieck. Rieck was Colby’s first option at the net, leading the team with 330 kills in her junior season. She also did her part on defense, recording a team-high 337 digs and was a weapon at the service line, coming in third on the team with 45 aces.

Fellow senior Brynn Polivka will also return to the court for Colby. Polivka was third on the team in blocks last season, recording 25 over the course of the season, and will likely see her role on offense increase this season.

“Daelyn is the best volleyball player we’ve had come through,” head coach Wade Oehmichen said. “Just very well rounded. She can pass well, she hits like a phenom and she’s extremely athletic. Brynn has really improved on her vertical. We’re seeing her hit the ball higher, her contact height is tremendous and we’ve seen her skills improve even in these early reps.”

The two seniors will lead a team with relatively little varsity experience outside of their own. However, the Colby coaching staff has been impressed so far with the young players they will be bringing in this season.

“We shouldn’t take too big of a dip down,” Oehmichen said. “You know, losing 11 seniors, we should have, because we only have two girls returning. But we’ve had super buy-in, all these girls wanted to come into the weight room, 20 to 30 girls in there, and so that helps. You’ve gotta be strong. Some of these girls can jump the same height standing as they can with their approach.”

Sophomores Cadence Meyer and Rylee Carr figure to start in the rotation, with Meyer serving as an outside hitter and occasional setter and Carr playing as a defensive specialist. Freshmen McKenzi Meyer and Zoe Kaiser also will be in the starting rotation, the former slotting in as an outside hitter and the latter playing as the primary setter and occasional hitter for the Hornets. Fellow freshman Taebyn Lieders will also rotate in for Colby.

“Cadence Meyer played some on varsity last year, but everyone else is new,” Oehmichen noted. “Since I’ve started, I’ve always had one freshman make varsity. I’ve got three this year and they’re all very talented.”

Junior Elizabeth Perez will also be joining the varsity squad this season. The junior, who did not come into the season with the same volleyball experience that some of the other Hornets’ athletes possess, quickly caught on. Her athleticism will be an asset for Colby’s back row, where she will serve as the team’s libero.

“This will be her first time playing volleyball in high school,” Oehmichen said. “She’s still learning, but she’s very athletic and she gets to balls that you’re like, ‘I don’t know if I would have gotten that.’ So we are excited for her.”

Though there may be some growing pains for a team as young as the Hornets, the coaching staff has been impressed with the work that they have seen from the squad in the offseason. Extra work in the weight room and on the courts should pay dividends during the season. As such, the Hornets still have high expectations for themselves in 2025, despite the turnover from last year’s roster.

Columbus Catholic, who has won the Cloverbelt-East every year for nearly a decade, once again looks to have a formidable squad, returning a significant portion of their team from last year, including three all-conference players. Any conference title hopes would likely go through the Dons.

Before they enter their conference schedule, however, the Hornets have a number of non-conference matchups, starting with a tournament held in Wisconsin Rapids this past weekend. There they faced off against a number of tough clubs, including Reedsburg, Wausau East and Abbotsford, and came out on the other side with a 3-2 record and finished as the runners-up.

Wisconsin Rapids Tournament

In their match against Wausau East, the Hornets came out firing, dominating the first set 25-12. The Lumberjacks managed to bounce back in the second, however, and forced a third set by winning 25-23. In the decider, Colby regrouped and finished off their opponents with a solid 15-8 victory.

While 17 hitting errors slowed the Hornets at times, they finished with 23 kills and 11 aces in the three-set match.

Rieck came away from the match with 11 kills and Polivka added eight herself as the pair of seniors led Colby’s offense in the win. McKenzi Meyer had a team-high four aces while Rieck picked up three and Carr finished with two. Perez anchored the Hornets’ defensive efforts with 16 digs and Kaiser recorded 11 assists.

The Hornets notched another win when facing off against Abbotsford, defeating their neighboring rival in straight sets. Once again, Colby got off to a hot start, dealing the Falcons a 25-11 defeat in the first set. While Abbotsford settled into the match after that, the Hornets still held the advantage in set number two, coming out with a 25-21 victory.

Colby was more effective in their attacks against Abbotsford, recording a .176 hitting percentage in the victory. Meanwhile, their defense proved effective, holding the Falcons to just 13 kills and one ace across the two sets. Perez and Rieck led those efforts, the former digging out 18 hits while the latter had 10 in the contest.

On offense, Rieck finished with 12 kills and Polivka added six with a .357 hitting percentage. Perez picked up three aces and Carr added two more for the Hornets in the win.

Colby’s only losses on Saturday came at the hands of tournament champion Reedsburg. In their first match against the Beavers, the Hornets could not keep up with their impressive offense, falling 2516 and 25-19. Reedsburg finished the game with an impressive hitting percentage of .500, recording 23 kills in just 40 attempts while only having three hitting errors.

While the Hornets were able to keep Rieck going, the senior racking up 12 kills on just 19 attempts, they weren’t able to find a second option on offense. There weren’t many gaps in Reedsburg’s serve receive either, as Colby finished with four aces over the two sets.

The squad got back on track with a 2-1 victory over Northland Pines. The Eagles jumped out early, winning the first set 25-17, but momentum shifted to Colby as they came out on top in a close 26-24 game. The Hornets closed things out with a 15-11 victory in the decider.

Both defenses proved resilient, Colby racking up 48 digs while needing 100 attempts to get 22 kills.

Rieck had the most digs and kills for the Hornets in the win, posting 15 and nine respectively. Perez added 12 digs herself and Polivka picked up four kills. McKenzi Meyer also had four kills and four aces, leading the team in the latter stat, and Kaiser had her tournament high in assists with 14 in the win.

In their rematch with Reedsburg, the Hornets held the Beavers’ offense more in check, but still ultimately fell in two sets. They kept things close in the first, falling 25-21, but Reedsburg was able to put the Hornets away in the second with a 25-21 victory.

Though they could not quite match-up with the vaunted Reedsburg squad, Colby still came away from the tournament with a second-place finish and some valuable experience.