BLUE EARTH &045; Last week, NRHEG volleyball coach Jackie Schultz felt her squad did not have the same confidence it had in starting the season 10-0.

The Panthers got some of it back Saturday.

NRHEG won all five matches while taking the championship in the Blue Earth Area Invitational.

&uot;I am most proud of the girls for showing so much guts and desire to battle,&uot; said Schultz. &uot;We have really started to bounce back, and we did a lot of good things as a team. We faced some tough opponents and played hard.&uot;

Serving continued to be a strength as they served 95.6 percent to their opponents’ 87.1 percent. They averaged 10.4 kills per game, put 73.8 percent of their serve receptions on target, and totaled 224 digs.

&uot;All in all a very good day,&uot; said Schultz.

The Panthers opened with what Schultz figured to be the toughest match of the day against Martin County West. They split in games but won the tiebreaker 25-24. In a rematch of an early-season meeting, the Panthers swept New Ulm 15-3, 15-1. They defeated Southwest Star 15-8, 15-4 to win their pool.

Against Waconia, the second-place team from the other pool, the Panthers battled back from a 9-0 deficit in game one but lost 15-12. They rebounded to win 15-13, 15-8.

A tired Panther crew beat the host team 17-15 in the opening game of the championship match, but the Bucs knotted it with a 15-7 win. The Panthers took the title with a 15-4 triumph.

The Panthers’ individual leaders: Erin Anderson 44-for-44 serving, 22 points, 106 set assists, 36 digs, 23 blocks, eight kills; Camille Kyte 51 kills, 25 blocks, 39 digs, 39-for-40 serving, 15 points; Kalisha Anthony 20 kills, 46 digs, 76-for-79 serving, 54 points, 10 aces, 24 blocks; Chelsy Quiram 21 kills, 36 digs, 32-for-36 serving, 18 points, 24 blocks; Emily Hagen 20 kills, 35 digs, 59-for-61 serving, 34 points; Nicole Lonning four kills, 17 digs, 22-for-23 serving, 11 points, three aces; Emily Horan 12 digs, 16-for-18 serving, nine points.

The Panthers return to Gopher Conference play tonight at Waterville.