It was another challenging week for the NRHEG volleyball team as the Panthers lost to LeSueur-Henderson Tuesday and Medford Thursday. Both were in New Richland.

NRHEG fell to 3-6 overall and 0-2 in the Gopher Conference.

The Panthers won game one against LS-H 25-23 but dropped the next three 25-22, 25-17, 25-13.

“We started out strong tonight, but slowly started to unravel,” said Panthers coach Onika Peterson. “By game four, we weren't getting touches on their hitters and weren't able to dig up their hits. We need to keep the ball playable, have a stronger serve receive, and cut down on mental errors.”

NRHEG individual statistics: Maddie Wagner 3 kills, 7 digs, 1 ace block, 1 ace serve; Marnie Wagner 7 kills, 11 digs, 1 ace serve; Natalie Aaseth 4 kills, 2 digs, 1 ace block; Gretchen Ramaker 5 kills, 1 dig, 2 assists; Rachel Collins 1 kill, 7 digs, 12 assists, 1 ace serve; Kelly Harden 1 kill; Olivia Christopherson 3 kills, 3 digs, 1 ace serve; Erin VanWilgen 3 digs; Makenzi Rhoades 1 dig; Grace Johns 14 digs.

The Panthers’ junior varsity lost 25-20, 24-25, 15-11.

Medford swept 25-16, 25-19, 25-10 on Thursday.

“We have had a tough week,” said Coach Peterson. “We will be looking for a win at JWP on Monday. We will have a 10-day break after that, where we can get back to fundamentals and lots of skills drills.”

Individually vs. Medford: Maddie 13 kills, 9 digs, 2 ace blocks; Marnie 4 kills, 13 digs, 1 ace block, 1 ace serve; Gabby Muri 4 digs; Ramaker 4 kills, 4 digs; Collins 13 assists, 9 digs; VanWilgen 3 digs; Harden 1 kill, 2 digs; Christopherson 3 digs, 1 ace block; Betsy Schoenrock 1 dig; Johns 1 kill, 15 digs.

Medford’s JV won 25-22, 16-25, 15-7.