Ellsworth Community College's volleyball team traveled to the Ridgewater Tournament in Wilmar, MN, this past weekend for a successful season opener.

The Panthers went 3-1 for the weekend, defeating Lake Region State College, Jamestown JV and Ridgewater College. Their only loss for the weekend came against North Dakota State College of Science.

"This was a great weekend to start off our season. We saw some tough competition that made us rise to the occasion and forced us to play in situations of pressure," commented Head Volleyball Coach Melanie Suljic. "The highlight of the tournament was beating Ridgewater (2013 DIII National Runner-Up) in five sets with the fifth set going 30-28. I don't think I've ever played or coached in a 5th set match that went 15 points past the finale of the game. It was exhilarating and brought around our best volleyball yet. It was a great way to finish in order to prepare for a tough Kirkwood on Wednesday."

Stat leaders for the weekend were Cristina Negron who had 38 kills, 71 set assists, and 5 aces; Daralyiz Santiago had 66 set assists and 8 aces; Keisha Machado had 34 kills and 6 aces; Mary Goergen had 32 kills; Allison Kuennen had 8 blocks; Madison Grabau had 58 digs; and Paola Soto had 10 aces.

The Panthers will open at home on Wednesday, Sept. 27, against Kirkwood at 7 pm.