The Panthers’ individual leaders: Anna Schlaak 22 kills, 17 kills, 2 ace blocks, 3 ace serves; Carlie Wagner 9 kills, 4 digs; Harlee Vokoun 9 digs, 1 assist, 1 ace serve; Noelle Bartness 32 set assists.
“ It's great to play solid teams like this, and we'll only get better because of it,” said Kuechenmeister. “No loss is a good thing, but we're certainly going to take positives away from it in preparation for the playoffs."
Two nights later the Panthers got back on track, blanking JWP 3-0 at home, winning 25-10, 25-13, 25-9.
"We needed a match like this,” said Kuechmeister. “The girls dominated from start to finish, and we had a number of people step up for us at different times. I loved the fact that we got everyone into the match, and there wasn't a dip at all in the level of play. That's an indicator of how hard all of these girls have worked in practice to better themselves as well as their teammates."
Individual statistics: Schlaak 10 kills, 4 digs, 12 ace serves; Wagner 9 kills, 1 ace block; Jade Schultz 3 kills, 3 digs, 1 ace block, 5 ace serves; Vokoun 3 kills, 4 digs; Bartness 27 set assists, 5 digs, 2 kills, 2 ace blocks; Katie Cole 3 kills, 2 digs, 2 aces; Tori Raimann 2 digs; Kal Shurson 2 digs; Raelin Schue 1 kill, 1 assist; Amy Thompson 2 digs; Jenika Jongbloedt 1 ace serve; Stormy Mulder 1 ace block; Paige Bolduan 2 digs; Rachel Ledding 2 kills, 4 digs.
"I was especially pleased with two girls who stepped up and took their games to the next level tonight,” said Coach Kuechenmeister. “Katie Cole and Rachel Ledding really performed in both the front row and back row for us, showing great leadership when given the opportunity."
The Panthers ran their record to 6-1 in the Gopher Conference and 17-4 overall. They hosted Blooming Prairie for parents night Tuesday. On Saturday, they travel to the Faribault Invitational.
