Rochester Century's volleyball team wasn't about to let a little thing like a 12-0 deficit to start the match get it down Thursday night.
The Panthers ended up dropping the first game to Austin 25-21 before coming back to win the match 25-16, 25-17, 25-19.
"Austin came out on fire that first game and had us on our heels," Century coach Bob Koerner said.
The Panthers didn't get flustered by the slow start, however. In fact they have been adept at shrugging off slow starts all season.
"It was a nice comeback," Koerner said. "We've had poor first games several times and they've shown that perseverance throughout the season."
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A staple for the Panthers (5-5, 1-1) was strong defense. Time after time the Panthers had the knack of digging a ball to keep a rally going.
A defining moment came in the second game with Century leading 5-2. Austin put down a spike, and thought it had the point and the Packers began to celebrate. But a Panther made a lunging save just inches from the floor and another flipped the ball into an open spot on the Austin side.
The Panthers went on to claim the game as well as the next two.
Kate Richards and Deanna Lindner both had 10 digs for the Panthers.
"We were kind of pushing hard and everyone was just doing their job," Lindner said.
Century also used a balanced attack at the net. Lindner led the way with eight kills while Lindsey Reding and Katie Sowa added seven each. Richards, Kate Kluge and Lauren Van Heuklon all had five kills. Kluge added 22 set assists while Sowa had four ace blocks and five ace serves.
Eagles rip Cotter
Rochester Lourdes made the long trip to Winona a little shorter with a 3-0 win over Winona Cotter on Thursday night.
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Lourdes won 25-21, 25-11, 25-23 in the Hiawatha Valley League match. The Eagles improved to 1-1 in the HVL, and 4-4 overall. Cotter is 0-2 and 2-7.
"Lourdes just served us off the court," said Cotter coach Nick Whaley.
For Cotter, Leah Mahoney had five kills and Megan McDonald had 11 assists. For Lourdes, Emilie Deschamps tallied nine kills and Amy Wulff had 31 set assists.
"The first game was close, but we went to work in the second game," Lourdes coach Stephanie Rupp said.
"We tried some new lineups and put people at different positions. It worked out well, especially in the second game, and we got a big conference win on the road."
Lourdes plays Lake City at home on Tuesday night.
Mayo stays perfect
The Rochester Mayo volleyball team improved to 6-0 with an impressive 3-0 win over visiting Winona. The Spartans are 2-0 in the Big Nine Conference.
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"We're living in a dream world right now," said Mayo coach Rob Scripture, whose team finished with a record of 13-10 in 2002.
"We hope the bubble doesn't burst, but we're enjoying it while it lasts; we're excited."
Scripture said Mayo did a good job receiving serves.
"Their main weapon is serving, and we did a good job of getting in front of them and popping them up," he said.
Mayo's leaders were Katelyn Carlson with 12 kills, Leah Bjerke with 11 kills, and Micaela Bjerke with 19 set assists.
Mayo has a non-conference match Monday at Northfield. The Spartans are at Century next Thursday.
Rockets spiked by West
Rochester John Marshall is off to an 0-2 start in the Big Nine Conference after a 3-0 loss to Mankato West on Thursday.
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West won 25-16, 25-17, 25-20. The Scarlets are 2-0 in the Big Nine Conference.
JM coach Brian Lund said his team played better than the scores indicated. He noted his team's scrappy defense.
"Actually in past losses we played well for about 1 1/2 games, but tonight we played well for three full games," Lund said. "It's a step in the right direction."
Leaders for the Rockets were Sam Sikkink with six kills, Erica Cain with four kills and three blocks, and Kala Rousu with 13 set assists.
JM is at Mankato East next Thursday.
