The best season in the history of Panorama Panthers varsity volleyball will continue for at least another week after a dramatic come-from-behind victory Tuesday night in Panora. The Van Meter Bulldogs made their second trip to Panora in two weeks to face the Panthers in the opening round of the Class 2A Region 3 bracket. The Panthers, who lost to Van Meter on October 2 in four games, sent the Bulldogs into the offseason with a five-set victory (22-25, 25-11, 17-25, 25-23, 15-12). After the match, the Raccoon Valley Radio Network caught up with Panorama first-year head coach Jessica Nail to discuss the milestone victory for the program. She called the rematch with Van Meter intense and fun. “We played Van Meter before, and we lost,” Nail said, “We know they are a tough team. We knew we had to leave it all out on the court and I feel my girls did exactly that.”

Several seniors played critical roles in Panorama’s playoff win last night. Brooke Halterman and Kennedy Kuta posted double-doubles in different statistical categories. Halterman had a team-best 18 kills and provided 15 digs defensively. Kuta topped Panorama with 26 assists, and 10 ace serves, recording four consecutive aces to begin the fifth set. The victory improves Panorama’s overall record to 17-11, a 10 win improvement from a season ago. The Panthers advances to Monday’s regional quarterfinal game against the Earlham Cardinals. The postseason meeting will decide who wins the season series as Panorama won the regular season meeting in four games on August 23 (27-25, 12-25, 25-20, 25-18), and the Panthers losing the rematch at the Perry Volleyball tournament on September 6 in three sets (24-22, 13-21, 7-15).