Photo by Jake McNeill: The 2025 Wabasso volleyball team includes (front row, left to right) Leah Mathiowetz, Britta Brand, Audrey Johnson, Sara Carlson, Annika Schmiesing, (back row) Alexa Remiger, Cassie Bliss, Carly Fenger, Kenley Guetter, Ava Samyn, Carlee Jenniges and Camryn Irlbeck.

WABASSO — The Wabasso volleyball team has been a dominant force in the Tomahawk Conference the last few years. After dominating the 2010s, winning at least a share of the conference title for five consecutive seasons from 2013 to 2018, the Rabbits returned to the top in 2023 before finishing as runners-up last year. With a large core of returners, they have the talent to get back on top this season.

“We have five seniors and they all have significant playing experience, so they’ve come into this season with a different mentality,” head coach Barb Johnson, in her 16th season with the team, said. “They’re ready to go. They know it’s their senior season and they want to push through and be as successful as they can be.”

Audrey Johnson, Sara Carlson, Leah Mathiowetz, Camryn Irlbeck and Carly Fenger make up the group’s senior core, with Johnson and Carlson both earning Independent All-Area selections last season. Johnson said that, rather than selecting captains, her team leans on its seniors for leadership.

Being vocally communicative on the court is a big part of how the seniors try to fulfill that leadership role, Carlson said, with Audrey Johnson added that they also want to make sure all of the underclassmen are comfortable and on the same page when they’re on the court competing.

“They’re both very organized and they keep the girls on track,” coach Johnson said of Carlson and Audrey Johnson. “That’s really nice to have as a coach, but also just on the court, they’ve got a lot of experience. They both played varsity for five years; this will be their fifth year, and they just know what to expect and know how to push people.”

Carlson, the team’s primary setter, was a second-team All-Area selection with 773 assists and 101 digs on the season, while Johnson, an honorable mention, tallied 294 digs as the team’s libero last season.

The Rabbits went 16-10 last season, earning the No. 4 seed in the Section 3A North bracket, but fell 3-1 in the subsection quarterfinals against Renville County West.

Johnson, Carlson and Irlbeck were all members of the Wabasso softball team’s run to the state tournament in the spring season and know what it feels like to claim a section title. As such, they’ll try to carry over that pedigree into a fall sport that they’ve already gained a reputation as a successful team in; the Rabbits were ranked 10th in the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association’s Class A preseason poll.

“I think we learned that winning feels a lot better than losing, and that’s something that we’ve kind of struggled with the last few years in volleyball,” Audrey Johnson said. “I think that’s something we’re really going to work on this year. How do we get ourselves to be strong from the start of the season to the end of the season?”

Carlson and Audrey and Barb Johnson all said that winning a conference title is among the team’s goals this year, but that they also have bigger aspirations, such as making it to Southwest Minnesota State University for the subsection semifinals and beyond.

Alivia Olson was one of the key players who graduated at the end of last season after posting a team-leading 313 kills along with 158 digs to earn an All-Area third-team selection. As such, Irlbeck, Mathiowetz and Kenley Guetter will have increased opportunity this time around after posting 164, 114 and 100 kills last year.

Irlbeck was also very impactful at the net defensively, with 70 total blocks to lead the team, along with 41 from Fenger and 11 from Mathiowetz.

“Defensively, we should be very strong,” coach Johnson said, noting the return of Johnson at libero and Britta Brand as a defensive specialist. Brand finished last season with 110 digs and will also get some opportunity at outside hitter this year. “The whole team really just takes pride in… being good at defense and not letting the ball hit the ground. Our experience, again, is going to be a strength of ours, especially if we’re playing any younger teams.”

The Rabbits were consistent from the service line with an 89% serve percentage and 169 aces as a group. Mathiowetz led the team with 50 service aces last year while Johnson and Carlson contributed 30 and 29, respectively.

Wabasso will get its season in Granite Falls on Thursday at Yellow Medicine East at 7 p.m. The Rabbits will host Lakeview for their home opener on Aug. 26 at the same time.