A Spotlight On Eau Claire Air 16 Blue
We talk a lot about the Milwaukee, Madison, and Fox Valley area clubs. While these are amazing clubs with gifted players, I believe talent can be found in every corner, nook, and cranny, but not everyone develops the natural talent. There are also a lot of players who aren’t born with natural talent, but work incredibly hard to maximize what they have. This is why I not only try to cover and get to know the players in the high-profile clubs and areas, but also try to shed a light on the northcentral area and the western side of the state when I can.
These areas have produced impressive high school programs such Abbotsford (7 State Titles/12 State Appearances), Clayton (3 State Titles/10 State Appearances), Grantsburg (14 State Appearances), Newman Catholic (4 straight State Titles/12 State Appearances), and Turtle Lake (3 straight State Titles). Most recently we’ve seen Clayton, Clear Lake, and Newman Catholic take home state titles. Other power houses on the west side of the state include Eau Claire Regis, Fall Creek, McDonell Central, and River Falls. We recently heard from some players and we want to highlight them for their hard work.
It was a fruitful season for Eau Claire Air’s 16 team. While they are a small program, Eau Claire Air has shown capability to compete in area competition in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. Here’s a look at Eau Claire Air’s top 16’s squad.
16 BLUE
This squad was off to a great start to the 2020 season recording a 24-3 record and with a 3rd place finish in the Club division at the Big City Luau. This group is coached by Co-head coaches Katrina Raskie and Jamie Dimka who are both UW-Eau Claire Alum. Raskie was a standout from the central Wisconsin area and went on to tally almost 1200 kills as a Blugold. Raskie is currently an assistant coach at UWEC.
This isn’t the biggest team, but they are athletic. McKenna Diermeier (2022 – 5’4 – Libero – Elk Mound), Maja Anderson (2022 – 5’2 – Defensive Specialist – Eau Claire Memorial), and Isabelle Eslinger (2022 – 5’2 – Defensive Specialist – Chippewa Falls) take on the back-row responsibilities. Diermeier is lightning quick, has a deadly float serve, and was actually a big swing for Elk Mound in 2019. She may be tiny, but she elevates and has a super-fast swing. Diermeier does a great job using the block a ton and is hard to defend. Makenna Rohrscheib (2022 – 5’9 – Setter – Eau Claire Regis) runs the offense and is vital to the success of the team. She has great hands and ran a 5-1 for Regis in 2019. Rohrscheib’s teammates say she has developed so much and has really become a confident player that hitters have a lot of trust in her.
On the pins, 16 Blue has options behind a resourceful group consisting of Brooke McCune (2022 – 5’9 – Osseo-Fairchild), Destiny Baughman (2022 – 5’6 – McDonell Central), Amie West (2022 – 5’9 – Cumberland) and Nylah Liskowski (2022 – 5’7 – Whitehall). McCune was a 1st Team All-Conference selection in the Cloverbelt West, and she got there by being unpredictable, elevating, and having the ability to finish strong. Her teammates describe her as a “quiet assassin”. Baughman was the go-to for McDonell in 2019. She elevates and has a quick swing or makes a smart deep corner tip. In the middle, Makenna Barone (2022 – 6’2 – Cadott) and Kaitlyn Ortmann (2022 – 5’9 – McDonell Central) are also possibilities for Rohrscheib to feed. Barone is another player who has made great gains and has developed from just a defensive blocker to an offensive threat.
16 Blue’s only losses in 2020 have come from Central Wisconsin Volleyball Club 18s, Medford 18s, and Summit 16-Bob, which is out of Fargo, ND. They’ve had big wins against Club Red 16R, Illinois Juniors 16-1, Minnesota Attack 16-1 and Pentagon 16 Orange (SD).