A medium-access-control (MAC) scheduler, according to one embodiment of which a station of a wireless network evaluates data throughputs corresponding to three different transmission configurations for transmission of a packet over a first of that station's wireless links. The first and second of those transmission configurations have the packet encoded in the first and second tiers, respectively, of a two-tier signal. The third transmission configuration has the packet encoded as a conventional single-tier signal. For each of the first and second transmission configurations, the station selects a second of that station's wireless links for transmission of at least a second packet, with the first and second packets encoded in different respective tiers of the two-tier signal. The station varies power allocation between the first and second tiers to optimize data throughput for each of the first and second transmission configurations and selects from the first, second, and third transmission configurations one resulting in the highest data throughput.