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Wynot athletes earn L&C All Conf. honors
WYNOT - Five Lady Blue Devil volleyball players received postseason recognition from the Lewis & Clark Conference coaches last week.
Three made the Clark Division All-Conference team and two members were listed to the honorable mention squad.
Sophie Geisen, Kenna Oligmueller and Jaylin Geisen were named to the first team while Joslyn Hochstein and Eliza Lange earned honorable mention by the coaches.
“Going into the season we had a lot of new faces on the court,” said Wynot coach Sidney Messersmith. “It gave me comfort knowing we had a veteran in Sophie (Geisen) running the court. She hit 2,000 career asists midway through the season. She definitely earned all-conference and she will be missed.”
“Kenna (Oligmueller) was another familiar face on the court this season,” Messersmith said. We made the switch to move her to outside this season and you could really see it was the right move.
She became a consistent ‘go-to’ for us. She was also able to develop more of a leadership role this season, she was a vital person for us and worked hardand is much deserving of this recognition.”
“Jaylin (Geisen) had a fantastic season for us coming in as the libero,” the coach said. “She did a great job putting herself in the right place and gave her teammates confidence in her that she was going to be there to dig the ball. She didn’t like to give up on the ball and that sort of grit was contagious for us. We are excited to have her back next season.”
“Joslyn (Hochstein) was never an athlete that wants the recognition,” said Messersmith. “She led by example. She came to practice every day with a positive mindset and worked hard. It’s pretty outstanding to see the improvement she made from her freshman year to now her senior season. She did a great job and she was vital in many of our wins with the blocking she did for us.”
“Eliza (Lange) also moved to a new position this year, moving from the right side to the middle,” her coach said. “She’s quick and has a good vertical with a powerful attack when she gets a hold of it.It takes a special player to accept her role and run with it and that’s exactly what Eliza did. She worked hard and did everything she could for this team to make sure it was a successful year.”
These five girls are a big part of the reason the L ady Blue Devils finished the year 21-10 and played their last match in Lincoln at the D2 state tournament.
“At the start of the year one of our weakest parts of the game was blocking,” Messersmith said. “We were never perfect at it but by the end of the season, our block was a huge contributor for us in the game.
“This season did have its ups and downs, but our team had a lot of competitive drive for us. We made strides at the end of our season and it’s what got us to the state tournament. Lots of lessons were learned by all.
“We will miss the seniors; Joslyn Hochstein, Eliza Lange, Sophie Geisen, Addison Pinkelman, who was out most of the season due to an injury, and Isabelle Francis who was a newcomer to our team who made a great impact for us with her serve and defensively. We will have some big shoes to fill but it’s nice to have some experience under our belts with some younger players this year.”
2024 LEWIS & CLARK ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Clark Division:
Avery Bargman 12 (Bloomfield); Kenna Oligmueller 11 (Wynot); Sophia Geisen 12 (Wynot); Madyson Mlady 9 (Bloomfield); Brooke Fanta 12 (Creighton); Mabel Ngebeh 11 (Randolph); Avery Stevens 11 (Wausa); Sophia Gansebom 12 (Osmond); Aspen Fulton 10 (Creighton); Jaylin Geisen 11 (Wynot).
Honorable Mention
Abby Brown (Osmond); Candace Pint (Creighton); Alexis Backhaus (Randolph); Olivia Barta (Wausa); Kora Poppe (Bloomfield); Joslyn Hochstein (Wynot); Tayloe Dawson (Wausa); Kaitlyn Byerly (Bloomfield); Erin Wagner (Osmond); Eliza Lange (Wynot).
Lewis Division
Tori Walker 12 (Homer); Rylie Harris 12 (Homer); Mica Tornez 12 (Tri County Northeast); Bridget Marotz 9 (Winside); Kiya Tornez 11 (Tri County Northeast); Chayce Abts 10 (Homer); Ellie Topp 10 (Winside); Janessa Overgaard 11 (Homer); Joslyn Mackling 10 (Tri County Northeast); Breezie Treglia 11 (Winnebago); Hadleigh Schutt 10 (Winside).
Honorable Mention:
Abby Phillips (Walthill); Daynee Harlan (Winnebago); Brycelyn Grant (Walthill); Caly Wolfleader (Winnebago); Madi Roeber (Homer); Allyson Belt (Tri County Northeast); Taiah Bird (Homer).
