LAKEVILLE, Minn. -- In a meeting of the South Suburban Conference's only two unbeaten teams, it was second-ranked Lakeville North claiming a 26-24, 21-25, 25-19, 25-22 win over fourth-ranked Lakeville South.
Two of the state's top hitters, the Panthers' Elizabeth Juhnke and the Cougars' Jasmine Mulvihill, were in the mix and though Mulvihill had a match-high 23 kills, Juhnke's 20 kills were backed up by 13 apiece from Macy Winter and Kennedy Brady.
The two teams met earlier in the month and North needed a nine-point run to end the opening set before cruising to a two-set win the championship of the Southwest Minnesota Challenge.
In the teams' second meeting, South jumped out to an 8-1 before North clawed its way back into the set.
The opening frame got busy when the hosts used a 5-1 run to finally tie the scored a 19-19, the first of five tie scores, before taking the lead for the first time at 24-23,
South held off one set point but, when Arianna Barrett got service with a 25-24 lead, the Panthers finally put away the opening set.
The tight battle continued into the second set as the teams traded the lead four times and were tied on six occasions but the Cougars tied the match at 1-1 by going on a 9-3 run to finish second set.
South then made a costly mistake to open the third set when the Cougars' staff turned in their lineup late, giving North a 1-0 lead and the Panthers never trailed the remainder of the match.
The visitors would tie the score at 6-6 and 7-7 in the set but it was the last time they would catch up with their hosts, who led from start to finish in the final set.
Juhnke accounted for 23.5 points for the Panthers with 20 kills, three aces and a block assists. She also had 13 digs for her second consecutive, and fifth of the season, double-double.
Kennedy Brad had 13 kills and five total blocks in the middle for the Panthers.
Amelia Wherland had a career-high 30 assists and also added a kill and a block.
In addition to her 13 kills, Kennedy had an ace, two solo blocks and three assists for 17.5 points.
Amelia Wherland had a career-high 30 assists with 50.8 percent of her set attempts resulting in kills.
Halle Wolfe anchor South's back row with 18 kills while passing 41 of 43 serves successfully. Arianna Barrett added 10 digs and both she and Tori Thompson had three blocks.
Next up for the Panthers is a rematch with No. 1 Eagan, which they lost to, Saturday, in the championship of Apple Valley's Eagle Invitational. The state's top ranked teams are set to meet Tuesday, beginning at 7 p.m., at Eagan High School.
