By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
If there’s one thing NRHEG High School volleyball coach Ashley Tolzman counted on, it’s that her Panthers would have a battle against Maple River in the opening round of section play Monday night.
She was right.
After dropping the first game 25-16 to Maple River, which recently beat NRHEG, the Panthers rallied to win 3-1 at New Richland, taking the final games 25-19, 25-20 and 25-23.
“What a match!” said Tolzman. “After recently going up against Maple River and losing, we knew we were going to have to work to get this win. We started out slow in our first set, not really moving and talking. By the end of the first set we started waking up and playing how we practiced. The girls were fired up and really playing as a team. It was so wonderful to see.”
Individually for the Panthers: Gabby Schlaak 16 kills, 3 blocks, 16 digs; Camryn VanMaledghem 2 blocks, 1 dig; Izzy Stadheim 4 digs; Elsie Schultz 25 digs; Tayler Schmidt 21 kills, 2 blocks, 28 digs; Hallie Schultz 45 set assists, 4 kills, 5 blocks, 30 digs; Keira Lenort 5 kills, 4 blocks, 1 dig; Madi Murray 6 kills, 9 blocks; Chloe Stork 1 kill, 2 blocks, 3 digs; Faith Nielsen 3 assists, 2 kills, 34 digs.
The win advanced the Panthers to the Section 2AA quarterfinals against WEM Thursday, Oct. 26 at Mankato West High School at 6 p.m. If they win, the Pant hers will play LCWM or Waseca Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 6 p.m. at New Prague. The final is Thursday, Nov. 2 at 7:30 at St. Peter.
The Panthers prevailed 3-0 at Nicollet the previous week. Game scores were 25-16, 25-19, 25-15.
“We were able to make a clean sweep and use a different lineup each set ,getting a majority of our girls on the court,” said Tolzman. “It was nice to break our current streak of losses and get the girls excited to play again.”
Individually: Schlaak 7 kills, 3 blocks, 3 digs; VanMaldeghem 1 block, 1 dig; I.Stadheim 1 kill, 4 digs; E.Schultz 1 kill, 4 digs; Schmidt 8 kills, 3 blocks, 12 digs; H.Schultz 28 assists, 2 kills, 9 blocks, 20 digs; Erin Peterson 2 digs; Lenort 6 kills, 3 blocks, 1 dig; Murray 6 kills, 9 blocks, 4 digs; Addy Stadheim 2 digs; Stork 1 block; Nielsen 3 assists, 1 kill, 17 digs.
The Panthers hosted Randolph for their Dig Pink Night and won 3-0, by scores of 25-19, 25-19, 25-20.
“What a night it was,” said Tolzman. “The girls were really looking forward to this night. We had a great turnout and a lot of support in our fundraising efforts.”
Their auction for the jerseys brought in $1866. They also brought in funds from the 50/50 raffle, and the New Richland Fire Department.
“We are so very grateful!” said Tolzman. “The girls played very well, they covered the court and kept swinging in every set.”
Individually: Schlaak 10 kills, 13 digs; VanMaldeghem 1 kill, 1 block; I.Stadheim 1 dig; E.Schultz 4 digs; Schmidt 6 kills, 3 blocks, 13 digs; H.Schultz 37 assists, 2 kills, 3 blocks, 11 digs; Lenort 7 kills, 6 blocks, 1 dig; Murray 13 kills, 9 blocks; Stork 1 kill, 7 blocks; Nielsen 1 assist, 19 digs.