The No. 19-ranked Neosho County defense caused all kinds of havoc for the No. 18-ranked Highland Community College offensive attack on Wednesday evening. As a result, the Panthers came away with a 3-1 (26-28, 25-12, 25-22, 25-22) victory. It was the Panthers' third consecutive win over a ranked opponent, extending the team's overall win streak to five in front of a rowdy Panther Madness crowd. The Neosho County defense tallied a whopping 118 digs in the match, including five players in double-figures. Sophomore libero Madi Miller dug up 44, while sophomore Kylie Corneliusen had 19 and Breann Becker 17. "We played really phenomenal defense last night," Coach Asya Herron said. "Their outside (hitter) Leslie Polanco is, I think, leading the conference in kills. She can really hurt people, but we just happened to dig up everything put over the net." That caused Highland to get off its game plan, which caused the visitors to make a lot of errors. "We made less errors and we won a lot of really big points in big rallies," Herron said. "Ultimately, that's what got us the win, but really, it was our defense last night. They kept us in the game and gave us the push to take the win from Highland." In the opening set, it was back and forth for much of the set. Each team put a sizable run on the board, but it was Highland's that made the difference in the set. With the Panthers leading 17-13, Highland went on a 6-1 run to put the Lady Scotties in front. "The first set, we let some points run away from us, and if we can get rid of those, one or two spots in a game where we are giving up four or five points," Herron said. Other than first set, the Panthers did just that. "I don't think we've peaked yet," Herron said. "We are playing well, but I want to be the team that dominates every night. I want to be the team that comes in and sets the precedent from point one."
    In the second set with Neosho County already leading 12-7, the Panthers put an 8-2 run to grab a commanding 20-9 lead en route to tie the match at one set apiece. In the final two sets, the Panthers only trailed again on one occasion. The deficit was the first point of the fourth set as Neosho County pulled away for the team's 22nd win of the season. "Everyone did their job. Everything (Maryssa) touched was a kill. She wasn't taking that many swings, it's like everything she touched was a point for us," Herron said. "I think Joanna Riggs played good six rotation volleyball. She's not going to be the big fancy kill leader, but she's smart with the ball. Recio led the Panther attack with 17 kills, while Riggs added 13. "I thought Madison Miller was phenomenal last night. She was digging everything on the back row," Herron said. "Our defense set the tone. We took them out of their game. Our back row players were the MVPs for sure last night."
    Neosho County (22-9 overall and 4-3 in the KJCCC) heads back to Iowa to square off against Iowa Central and Dakota County at 4 and 6 pm in Fort Dodge, Iowa on Friday.