Coach Onika Peterson hopes it’s a lesson for the NRHEG volleyball team.
After nixing Nicollet 3-1 in the season opener, the Panthers won the first two games at Blooming Prairie before losing the final three in dropping a 3-2 decision in their Gopher Conference opener Thursday, Sept. 1.
“It was a heartbreaker,” said Peterson. “We came out so strong in games one and two.”
But, after controlling the Blossoms 25-17 and 25-9, the Panthers quickly fell behind in game three and couldn’t catch up, falling 25-23. The home team tied it up with a 25-17 game four win and took game five 19-17.
Individually for NRHEG: Maddie Wagner 15 kills, 5 digs, 1 ace block; Marnie Wagner 14 kills, 15 digs, 1 ace block; Natalie Aaseth 2 kills, 2 digs; Gretchen Ramaker 6 kills, 1 assist; Rachel Collins 1 kill, 9 digs, 40 assists, 1 ace block; Olivia Christopherson 4 kills, 7 digs; Betsy Schoenrock 4 kills, 1 assist, 2 ace blocks; Erin VanWilgen 5 digs; Grace Johns 9 digs.
“Tonight was all about momentum,” said Coach Peterson. “Unfortunately for us, Blooming came out on top. We need to learn from tonight, refocus and hopefully when we play Blooming the last game of the season we will have a different outcome.”
The junior varsity won 10-25, 26-24, 15-10.
The Panthers defeated Nicollet 19-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-23 in New Richland Aug. 30.
Individually: Mar. Wagner 9 kills, 18 digs, 1 ace block, 1 ace serve; Mad. Wagner 8 kills, 17 digs, 1 ace block; Christopherson 8 kills, 16 digs, 1 ace blocks, 2 ace serves; Collins 6 kills, 32 assists, 9 digs; Ramaker 4 kills, 1 ace block; Schoenrock 1 kill, 2 ace blocks; Johns 11 digs.
“We started out slow in game one,” said Peterson. “Nicollet kept us on our heels. We struggled with staying aggressive and attacking the ball; we sent too many free balls and tips in the first game. We attacked the ball much better during games 2-4. It was great to get our first win of the season, as well as see some of our weaknesses that we will need to work on.”
The JV won 25-19, 25-14.