Halle Johnston is not one of Lakeville South’s big hitters and rarely gets the headlines.

The sophomore libero, however, was the one making the news against Shakopee.

Johnston provided the spark the Cougars needed to sweep the power-hitting Sabers 25-19, 25-17 and 25-20 in a South Suburban Conference matchup Tuesday at Lakeville South High School.

'(Volleyball) is a serve-and-pass game, a big part of the game for a libero, and (Johnston) does such a great job at that," Lakeville South head coach Steve Willingham said. "I feel like that's what really made the match for us tonight."

Shakopee’ hitters on the outside sent Johnston flying and diving all over the court as Lakeville South's blocking was mostly ineffective.

Johnston doesn't mind hitting the hardwood. She said defense and effort are her best two traits and both helped her stand out from the Cougars' stable of hard-hitting arms across the front row.

"I feel like I go for a lot of balls and get them up (to teammates),” Johnston said. “You can't get balls up if you don't go for them. So I feel like effort is a big strength of mine."

Johnston is listed as an outside hitter on the roster sheet and Willingham said he’s thought about letting her swing but she is too good defensively to play anywhere else but libero.

Johnston has a team-high 103 digs this season for the Cougars, No. 5 in the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association’s Class 3A rankings.

"She's really important to our defense in the backcourt, so up to this point, we've felt like we need her touches for six rotations," Willingham said.

Libero is a difficult position that requires players to be the Swiss Army knives for their teams and Johnston fills the role exceptionally well for the Cougars, despite being a sophomore.

Johnston worked on her game in the offseason and the improvement is paying dividends this season, helping her become an unexpected team leader, Willingham said

"(Johnston) went from being a freshman libero on our team to being, really, one of the top players in that position in the state," he said. "She continues to improve. She talks about going for the ball and she just loves to pursue and she really has a lot of range out there."

The Cougars (13-4, 5-1) face Farmington on Thursday. Shakopee (8-6, 3-3) hosts Lakeville North.

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