The two squads battled back and forth for most of the second game. The Panthers scored the final two points to break a 23-23 tie.
NRHEG built a 17-10 lead in the final game and cruised to a 25-18 victory.
The Panthers were without starter Jade Schultz, who injured an ankle at the Blue Earth Tourney.
“We had different girls stepping into different roles trying to fill Jade’s spot,” said NRHEG coach Joe Kuechenmeister. “That was very evident in different parts of the match.”
Another problem for NRHEG was 58 unforced errors in the match.
“We had to fight ourselves all night long,” said Kuechenmeister. “JWP was very scrappy and played as hard as you can play. They got the ball back to us and we made plenty of errors.”
Wagner led the Panthers with 12 kills, Katie Cole delivered seven and Ryann Hagen added five.
Raelin Schue came up with four ace blocks at the net.
Noelle Bartness dished out 32 set assists for NRHEG.
Callie Morton’s six kills topped the Bulldog attack.
Wagner and Cole sparked the NRHEG defense with 11 digs apiece, two more than Hannah Lundberg.
“We feel fortunate to have gotten out of there with a win,” said Kuechenmeister.
NRHEG travels to Waterville to tangle with the Buccaneers this evening. WEM won the first meeting in four games.
The Panthers journey to Faribault for a Saturday tournament, and then host Blooming Prairie in their final home game Tuesday.
NRHEG 3, JWP 0
NRHEG 26 25 25 76
JWP 24 23 18 65
NEXT: Tonight – NRHEG at WEM, 7:15 p.m.
