The NRHEG volleyball team had lost back-to-back conference matches to Medford and Blooming Prairie.
The Panthers weren’t about to let it happen again.
They never gave visiting Maple River much of a chance in their Homecoming match, defeating the Eagles 3-0 at New Richland Thursday, Sept. 24. Game scores were 25-23, 25-11, 25-22.
“After losing two conference matchups, tonight’s win was needed,” said NRHEG coach Onika Peterson, whose team improved to 7-5 overall and 3-2 in the conference.
“It was a good confidence booster going into a tough upcoming week,” said Peterson. “We host TCU Monday, USC Tuesday, WEM Thursday, and to Blue Earth Saturday for a tournament.”Individual leaders vs. Maple River: Maddie Wagner 8 kills, 3 digs, 2 ace blocks; Marnie Wagner 7 kills, 8 digs, 2 ace serves; Abby Wacholz 8 kills, 2 ace blocks; Anna Lundberg 12 assists, 2 digs, 1 ace serve; Gretchen Ramaker 3 kills, 1 dig, 2 ace blocks; Rachel Collins 14 kills, 6 digs; Grace Johns 4 digs; Hailey Schuller 3 kills, 1 ace block; Abby Christopherson 3 digs; Sophie Fischer 7 kills, 1 ace block, 1 ace serve; Corrie Powell 5 digs.
The Panthers traveled to Blooming Prairie Tuesday, Sept. 22 and came home with a 3-2 loss, falling 25-14, 23-25, 20-25, 25-17 and 15-13.
“We had a roller coaster of a night, lots of ups and downs,” said Coach Peterson. “We struggled getting going in game one, battled back in two and three. One area that killed us in game four was one server scored 11 on us in a row; we couldn't get out of the rotation. We have to start minimizing other teams big runs.”
Individually: Mad. Wagner 5 kills, 6 digs, 1 ace block; Mar. Wagner 2 kills, 32 digs; Wacholz 12 kills, 10 digs, 3 ace blocks, 3 ace serves; Lundberg 13 assists, 8 digs, 2 ace serves; Ramaker 2 kills, 2 digs, 1 ace block; Johns 14 digs; Collins 16 assists, 12 digs, 1 ace serve; Schuller 5 kills, 3 digs; Christopherson 15 digs; Fischer 3 kills, 10 digs, 1 ace block; Kaylie Camerer 1 kill, 3 digs, 2 ace blocks; Powell 8 digs.