By John RittenhouseA slumping Ellsworth volleyball team was unable to regain its winning form from earlier in the season during a pair of outings late last week.The Panthers, who have lost six of their last seven matches, were swept in a three-game match played in Minneota Thursday. Ellsworth went 1-3 and placed sixth at Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Tournament in Russell Saturday.Ellsworth, 9-7 overall, plays in Lake Benton tonight before traveling to Edgerton Monday.R-T-R tourneyThe Panthers placed sixth during Saturday’s eight-team tournament played in Russell.Ellsworth did snap a losing skid by defeating Canby during the second round of the event, but the Panthers lost matches to Southwest Star Concept, Wabasso and Lake Benton before the tournament was complete."We’re just not jelling at all right now," said Panther coach Jason Langland. "We were getting after it and diving for every ball earlier in the season. Now it seems like were standing around a lot."The Panthers opened the tournament by splitting two games with SSC to open the tournament, but the Quasars were given the win based on total points scored in the games. EHS won 28-26 in the opener before falling 25-20 in Game 2.Lynette Drenth charted 18 set assists and Laurel Drenth delivered four kills in the first match. Amy Tiesler, who was eight of eight serving with two aces, charted three blocks. Brittney Kramer and Amanda Deutsch contributed three blocks and five digs to the cause respectively.The Panthers posted their win against Canby in the second round. EHS recorded 25-15 and 25-17 victories over the Lancers.Kramer led the Panthers with seven blocks and five kills in the match. Lynette Drenth notched nine set assists. Tiesler was 10 of 11 serving with six aces. Deutsch recorded six digs.Wabasso bested the Panthers by 25-23 and 25-17 tallies in the third round.Laurel Drenth was seven of seven serving with one ace against the Rabbits, and shared the team lead in digs (three each) with Tiesler, and Deutsch. Tiesler produced a team-high five kills, while Kramer led the way with two blocks. Lynette Drenth charted eight set assists.EHS beat Lake Benton 25-22 in the first game of the fifth-place match before falling 25-22 and 15-10 in the final two contests.Kramer and Tiesler led the Panthers at the net with 10 kills and four blocks respectively. Kramer, who had five digs, was 13 of 15 serving with two aces. Laurel Drenth tallied 13 set assists in the finale. Deutsch contributed five digs.Minneota 3,Ellsworth 0The state’s third-ranked Class A team had little trouble in disposing of the Panthers Thursday in Minnesota.The highly-regarded Vikings outscored EHS 75-30 during a convincing, three-game victory."They got the whole package," admitted Panther coach Langland. "They run a lot of different offensive sets, and there are not a lot of high school teams that are quick enough to block them. They are a very good team. There’s no doubt about that.Minneota made an early statement by rolling to a 25-8 win over the Panthers in Game 1.Ellsworth scored 15 points in a 25-15 loss in the second game, but the Vikings dominated play again while coasting to a 25-7 victory in the finale.Rosie Lewis charted three kills and three blocks for EHS, while Lynette Drenth added three kills and three set assists to the cause. Laurel Drenth, who had three digs along with Deutsch, completed eight of nine serves with one ace and five points. Tiesler completed all five of her serves and scored two points.