Panthers Advance To Section 7A Finals

Photos by Paula Gellatly

Tyler Peterson-NSO

The South Ridge Panthers advanced to the Section 7A finals on Tuesday night, topping the Northeast Range Nighthawks, 3 matches to 1. The Panthers won by scores of 25-20, 25-19, and 25-11 and fell in the 2nd set, 28-26.

The Panthers were led by Justice Janke who hammered down 24 kills and tallied 14 digs on the evening, on top of 4 ace serves. Mallory Thibault also had a nice performance with 16 kills and 5 blocks. Mikayla Olesiak racked up 39 set assists to help to Panthers to victory, and Lindsey Janke and Krystal Karppinen played a helpful hand with Janke smacking down 8 kills and adding 18 digs and Karppinen pitching in 13 digs.

The Panthers improve to 25-3 and will match up with the defending Section 7A champions, the Carlton Bulldogs (26-5), in the Section finals on Saturday, November 1st at 4:00 PM. The Bulldogs defeated the Panthers earlier this year, 3 matches to none.

Tyler Peterson can be contacted at tpeterson@northlandsportsonline.com