The NRHEG volleyball team closed out its regular season Monday night when it hosted No. 8-ranked Medford in a Gopher Valley Conference showdown.

The Panthers struggled to keep pace with the Tigers and fell in three straight sets at the exact same score each time, 25-13, 25-13, 25-13.

NRHEG could not get their kill game going, with only sophomore Sophie Stork and junior Kendall Johnson recording more than one. Johnson led the way with five and Stork notched two. Seniors Katie Cliff, Madie DenHerder and Mia Farr and juniors Anna Jacobson and Elli Baker each had one.

Junior Grace Tufte had nine assists and two digs. Stork led the way with six digs, while junior Cambria Nissen and freshman Sidney Schultz each had three.

“There is a reason Medford has been ranked in state all season long,” head coach Onika Peterson said. “They have a very impressive team. Their offensive is very quick with power hitters coming from all across the net. We will seed Wednesday and find out where we will be placed in 1AA. We have had some great wins the last couple weeks, so we need to focus on those and what we need to improve come playoffs.”

The loss brings the Panthers to 14-15 on the season. As of Tuesday, they were seeded sixth in Section 1AA West, which would pit them against No. 3-seed Byron on Oct. 24. Official seedings will be released by the Minnesota State High School League on Wednesday.