FARIBAULT – The Panthers ran up against one of the best programs in the state on the road Sept. 17. The Cardinals are the defending state champs, have won 11 consecutive conference titles and captured their 102nd straight Gopher Conference win.
FBA outscored the Panthers 75-51, winning 25-14, 25-19, 25-18.
“When you play against a team as consistent and smart as FBA, you have to play error-free volleyball and we didn’t do that,” said Kuechenmeister. “We struggled with serve receive and that made life tough on our setters and hitters.”
Carlie Wagner led the NRHEG attack with nine kills, Katie Cole delivered eight and Raelin Schue, Jade Schultz and Paige Overgaard added four kills apiece. Wagner also had a couple of ace blocks at the net.
Noelle Bartness handed out 25 set assists in the contest.
The Panther defense was kept busy with Wagner’s seven digs leading the way. Kalana Shurson had six digs, Hannah Lundberg contributed five digs and Schultz finished with four digs.
Cole delivered a pair of ace serves for the Panthers.
“We had spurts where we challenged one of the better volleyball teams in the state,” said Kuechenmeister. “We just had too many lapses in focus where we made consecutive errors and that really hurt us.”
FBA, which also swept the Panthers last year, improved to 3-0 in the conference and 7-3 overall.
Medford
MEDFORD – Medford may have caught the Panthers by surprise the next night, winning in four games at Medford.
“A frustrating loss for us. We didn’t play anywhere near our potential,” said Kuechenmeister. “Medford played consistent, scrappy volleyball. They kept the pressure on us the entire match.”
The Tigers, who lost three straight games to NRHEG last season, climbed to 1-2 in the Gopher and 3-5-2 overall.
Medford won the opening game 25-18, but the Panthers rebounded with a 25-21 triumph. Medford then gained control, winning 25-11 and 25-15.
“We allowed a big run midway through each game,” said Kuechenmeister. “We felt like we were having to dig ourselves out of a hole the entire match.”
Wagner smashed 13 kills, Cole delivered eight, Schultz contributed seven and Overgaard ended up with four. Wagner and Schultz both had a pair of ace blocks.
Bartness again ran the offense, dishing out 31 assists.
Schultz paced the defense with 14 digs, two more than Wagner. Shurson contributed seven digs, with Lundberg and Bartness making six digs apiece.
USC
NEW RICHLAND – NRHEG returned to its home court last Thursday and kept USC winless with a 3-0 victory. The Panthers outscored the Rebels 75-45, winning 25-16, 25-14 and 25-15.
USC, which lost to the Panthers in four games last season, dropped to 0-3 in the conference and 0-7-1 for the year.
Wagner sparked the victory with 19 kills, five digs and three ace serves. Bartness ran the offense with 34 assists and added seven digs. Shurson nailed five ace serves and Schultz contributed three more.
NRHEG hits the road against Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton Tuesday.
FBA 3, NRHEG 0
NRHEG 14 19 18 51
FBA 25 25 25 75
Medford 3, NRHEG 1
NRHEG 18 25 11 15 69
Medford 25 21 25 25 96
NRHEG 3, USC 0
USC 16 14 15 45
NRHEG 25 25 25 75
NEXT: Oct. 2 – NRHEG at JWP, 7:15 p.m.
