Small Town Gems Ready for a BIG Club Season – WI: Part 2

Since I grew up in an incredibly small town myself, I love it when I see athletes from the smallest communities emerge and deliver some of the biggest impacts on the volleyball scene. Below are additional athletes from small towns that are gearing up for a big club season. Some of these gems won't remain hidden for too long.    From the small town of Shawano, Buss played OH in high school and earned herself All Conference Honorable Mention and Most Improved Player. Headed into her final year of club with Blaze, I watched her play this past weekend and was impressed with many of her skills.  She passes well, can terminate the ball from the pin, and moves efficiently to put up a big block for opponents. Buss will be fun to watch this season as her team gets rolling in many big tournaments.      This girl is a true gem! Wanless has a great vertical that she mixes with power and speed to generate kills out of the middle. I watched her this past weekend and couldn't look away when she was on the court. While she was playing middle when I watched her, her athleticism leads me to believe she likely is just as lethal from the pins. Wanless hails from the extremely small town of Ithaca (population just over 600) where she earned several honors in her senior year including Ridge and Valley All Conference, 2024 Hitter of the Year, and Co-Player of the Year. Regardless of what position she plays this club season, she is going to be pivotal to her JAG team's success.     I love leftys, especially lefty hitters. I watched Loftus play on the right side this fall for Wisconsin Dells. For a sophomore, it was crazy to see the number of shots that she has already developed. I watched her hit cut shots, deep cross, line, and then tip over big blocks. She made opposing blockers work and I watched time and time again as she incorporated each of her various shots at the appropriate moments to rack up a number of kills. Loftus will be playing for [program_tooltip program_id='428672' first='Milwaukee' last='Sting'] this club season and I am eager to see her compete and lead her team with her experience.     Riffey is a 2028 up and coming setter. She found playing time on varsity this past fall as a freshman at the small school of Wonewoc-Center where she dished out 95 assists and 79 digs. While Wonewoc may be small, they are a big volleyball school having made 3 straight state appearances and winning the division 4 WIAA title in 2023. While Riffey had to watch them clinch the title from the bleachers as an 8th grader, she is likely gearing up to help position Wonewoc-Center for future appearances. Riffey is playing the club season for the 15u National JAG team where she was seen running the offense and hitting from the right side. Riffey is able to track down many out of system balls and has good court awareness which will serve her team well this club season.     Hoel is an outside hitter from the small town of Hortonville. Playing on the [program_tooltip program_id='428659' first='Wisconsin' last='Blaze'] 15u, Hoel was terminal as a pin in their first tournament of the season. In close games, I often see younger athletes revert to tipping as they are afraid to make a mistake. Hoel isn't like that. She continued to take big swings, in big moments, choosing to terminate the ball instead of hoping the other team makes a mistake. Hoel's serve is also a huge advantage for this Blaze team. She is able to score her team many points off her difficult float serve. As this team begins its club season, I anticipate Hoel will be key in big moments.

Since I grew up in an incredibly small town myself, I love it when I see athletes from the smallest communities emerge and deliver some of the biggest impacts on the volleyball scene. Below are additional athletes from small towns that are gearing up for a big club season. Some of these gems won't remain hidden for too long.