The Panthers are for real

Paula Gellatly-NSO

VIRGINIA, Minn—The South Ridge Panthers came in to today’s tournament with an 11-1 record and a first place tournament title last week in Chisholm. They have been on a roll and today was no different. The Panthers beat Mesabi East, Cloquet, Academy of Holy Angels, and finally Hermantown to take first place in the Virginia Tournament.

The Panthers took on Mesabi East in the opening match this morning winning 2-0 with close scores of 25-23 and 25-22. Senior Justice Janke led the team offensively with 9 kills and 10 digs, followed by Junior Lindsey Janke with 7 kills and 12 digs. Mallory Thibault added 6 kills. Senior Setter Mikayla Olesiak ended the games with 20 set assists. Defensively, Junior Krystal Karppinen played strong with 8 digs and 2 ace serves, and Sophomore Marriah Janke added 6 digs.

South Ridge advanced to the winners bracket and next faced the Cloquet Lumberjacks. Cloquet beat them last year in the championship game in the same tournament, so the Panthers knew they had their work cut out for them.

The Lumberjacks fought hard, but the Panthers came out with a 2-0 win (25-18, 25-16). Junior Lindsey Janke led the Panthers with 9 kills, Senior Justice Janke added 8 kills, and Junior Mallory Thibault ended with 4 kills and 5 digs. Setter Olesiak had 16 set assists and served 100%. Defensively Krystal Karppinen led with 8 digs and 100% serving, and Sophomore Marriah Janke added 6 digs and 1 block.

Moving on to the final four, the Panthers went up against The Academy of Holy Angels (from the Richfield, MN area). It was another hard fought game, and South Ridge came out on top 25-21 and 25-21 to advance to the Championship game. Justice Janke led with 9 kills and 9 digs, followed by Junior Krystal Karppinen with 5 kills and 11 digs. Lindsey Janke added 4 kills and 7 digs. Olesiak ended with 16 set assists and again 100% serving.

The Panthers headed to the final game of the day, taking on a tough Hermantown Hawks team. South Ridge took the first game 25-19, but Hermantown fought back and took the second 25-22, sending it to a third tie-breaking game. The Panthers jumped out ahead off the bat and took home the win with a score of 15-7.

Senior Setter Mikayla Olesiak ended the game with 23 set assists and again 100% serving. Justice Janke led the team with 11 kills and 15 digs, followed by Mallory Thibault with 8 kills and 2 blocks. Karppinen added 5 kills and 8 digs.

Junior Lindsey Janke played a strong defensive game and totaled 13 digs and 2 blocks, followed by Sophomore Marriah Janke with 7 digs, 6 set assists, and 2 blocks. Eighth grader Celia Olesiak served 100% with 1 ace.

The Panthers increase their record 15-1 and are back in action Tuesday night in Cherry to take on the Tigers at 7 p.m. They also travel to a Polar League Conference match in Cook County on Thursday, game time is 6:15 p.m.