Jayson Coleman, Sports Reporter
The match against Barron was back-and-forth, with Mosinee winning the first and third sets while Barron won the second, fourth and fifth. None of the five sets were decided by more than four points.
The loss to Barron ended what had been a dominant postseason for Mosinee up to that point. After winning the Great Northern Conference by finishing undefeated in conference play, the Indians cruised to victories in three sets in each of their first three playoff matches.
This includes their sectional semifinal match last Thursday against the 3-seeded Wisconsin Dells Chiefs, which Mosinee won in three sets despite Dells playing them very competitively early on.
“Dells came out fired up,” said Mosinee head coach Justin Jacobs. “They were aggressive, they weren’t letting anything drop on their side of the net, I actually thought we put some good swings on them. They were getting touches on balls that, in a regular season match, a lot of kids let float by.”
Each of the first two sets between Mosinee and Dells saw the two teams going back and forth until around halfway through. In set 2, the two teams were tied 13-13 at the set’s midpoint. As each set went on, though, the Indians were consistently able to pull away to the point where each set ended with a convincing final result.
“Our tempo took over,” Jacobs said. “Once we get in system, we get [Paetyn] Jirschele the ball with her feet set, their blockers just couldn’t keep up. A couple little things went against us, we couldn’t recognize the short serves very well, got ourselves in a couple bad spots. But once we get rolling, once we identify those things and fix what we can control, it’s just so much fun watching these girls play. The speed at which they play is unreal.”
Outside of the victory, Mosinee’s sectional semifinal match against Wisconsin Dells was special for other reasons. Seniors Abbi Kluz and Olivia Schroeder both achieved the rare milestone of 500 career kills alongside 200 career blocks.
“It’s pretty cool, they’re the first and second kid in school history to have that combination,” Jacobs said. “We’ve had plenty of kids that’ve had 500 kills, only one other kid that had 200 blocks, but nobody’s ever done it together. Just the fact that they’re cousins too, it’s a pretty cool milestone. They played together for us for a while, and it’s awesome to see them get celebrated for all the work that they do for us.”
Jacobs described his team’s goals throughout the season as being like a checklist, starting out with winning the conference then “checking off” each round of the playoffs. Despite Mosinee’s season ending before they could cross a Division 2 state title off their list, Jacobs was happy with his team and the connection they were able to build throughout the season.
“We were talking before the match [against Wisconsin Dells], our girls like to get here early and joke around like a family,” Jacobs said, “having fun together, whatever night it is. It’s really fun to see, a fun group to be a part of.”
Mosinee volleyball ends the 2026 season with a 32-7 overall record, including playoffs. Their sectional final appearance marks their best result since the 2021 season.
Match Results
Team Set 1 Set 2 Set 3
Wisconsin Dells 13 18 13
Mosinee 25 25 25
Team Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
Barron 22 26 22 25 15
Mosinee 25 24 25 21 12
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