EFFORT - Sophie Stork reaches high for the return.
Star Eagle photos by Chris Schlaak
In their second to last match of the year, the Panthers hosted Medford on Senior night, falling to the Tigers three games to none. Game scores were 25-18, 25-16, and 25-12.
“We fought hard all night,” NRHEG Coach Onika Peterson said. “The girls never got down and continued to battle and claw their way back. We put ourselves in a couple holes that we never were able to climb all the way out of.”
The Panthers struggled from the beginning. They struggled on the back and forth, on serve and receive to start the game, and their blockers couldn’t get good touches on their hits. As the night went on, the girls improved, but it wasn’t enough.
The Panthers celebrated two seniors, Rhys Martin and Sophie Stork. This is what Coach Peterson had to say regarding the volleyball seniors: “We appreciate all of their effort, time, dedication, and hard work that they have put into the Panther volleyball program. We appreciate their leadership on the court as well as in the classroom. We wish them nothing but the best and know that they will succeed in whatever they choose to do.”
With the defeat the Panthers conference record falls to 5-5 and with their overall record now 13-11-1. The Panthers traveled to play Maple River Tuesday night in their final regular season contest.
Individually for the Panthers: Erin Jacobson 5 kills, 5 digs; Sophie Stork 5 kills, 3 digs, 2 ace blocks; Bree Ihrke 1 kill, 2 assists, 2 ace blocks; Hallie Schultz 12 assists, 2 digs, 1 ace block; Sarah George 3 kills, 1 dig, 3 ace blocks; Rhys Martin 1 kill, 2 ace blocks; Bailey Ihrke 1 dig; Sidney Schultz 13 digs, 1 kill, 1 assist; Andy Briggs 1 dig; Faith Nielsen 1 dig.