The Panther volleyball team hit the home hardwood on Tuesday for the first time since its season opener on Aug. 21, but unlike that match, TMB fell short in its Camden Conference opener.
Kerkhoven Murdock Sunburg handed the Panthers their seventh loss of the season with a 25-20, 1725, 26-24 25-22 win.
The first set was nip-and-tuck all the way, featuring six ties throughout the set, the last one coming at 18-18 after an Ary Schultz kill. After that, KMS was able to hold off the Panthers for the fourpoint win.
The Panthers rebounded nicely in the second set, opening with a 6-2 advantage. The lead grew to 11-5 on a kill by Braelynn Kirk, and TMB kept KMS at bay from there on. An ace by Allie Adams put the Panthers ahead 20-13, and Piper Freeburg’s ace brought up set point at 24-16. TMB closed the set out on an ace tip by middle hitter Bella Martinez.
In the third set, the Saints built a 14-10 lead and were up 18-13 when Martinez went down with a right ankle injury and was replaced by Taylor Munson. TMB continued to fight hard, setting up a great finish; the Panthers pulled to within 20-19, and the match was knotted up at 2424 when a KMS kill attempt went long.
The Saints went up by one when a TMB kill attempt went into the net, and they closed it out with an ace serve that put them up two sets to one.
Once again in Set 4, things were tight, even though the Saints opened the set by scoring seven of the first eight points. However, the Panthers (2-7) battled back and pulled to within one at 17-16. After KMS opened its lead to 22-19, kills by Adams, Kirk and Gretchen Lanoue kept the Panthers well within striking distance, but the Saints (3-5) notched the final two points to take the match.
TMB 1-3 AT SOUTHWEST CHALLENGE
The Panthers finished 1-3 at the Southwest Challenge last Friday and Saturday. TMB lost to Class AAAA’s second-ranked Lakeville North 0-2 and River Falls 0-2 before winning 2-0 over Medford. TMB also lost to Belgrade-Brooten Elrosa in two sets.
Piper Freeburg led TMB in serving with 94% accuracy with three aces and digs with 27.
Melaina Ankrum, who played only on the second day, led the team in kills (18) and set assists (15). Bella Martinez had eight kills, eight blocks and two ace serves. Taylor Munson had 16 digs, Alli Dolan had 16 set assists and Brooke Swenhaugen had six digs.
