Eagan lost its aggression in the third and fourth sets in Saturday’s Class 3A championship game, coach Kathy Gillen said.

The Wildcats found it in the fifth set to defeat top-seeded Prior Lake at Xcel Energy Center for their second title in three years.

Junior Brie Orr led Eagan with 16 kills and 31 assists and her sister Kennedi, a seventh-grader, had 19 assists as the Wildcats (28-4) defeated Prior Lake (28-5).

“We didn’t lie down and give up right when they started to play better,” Orr said. “We started to play better too.”

Ally Murphy hit the match-clinching kill in the fifth set, after Alyssa Doucette hit a kill to set up the game-winner. The teams had been tied at 13.

Prior Lake was making its first state tournament appearance. Senior Ella Francis led the team with 18 kills, sophomore Kayla Blair had 14 and Ellie Veldman had 48 assists.

“They pushed us to the limit, and we pushed them to the limit,” Lakers coach Mike Dean said. “That’s kind of how the game goes.”

Eagan lost the 2014 championship game against Chaska after winning it in 2013. The team lost five seniors from last year’s squad and didn’t have a single senior this year.

Despite that youth, the Wildcats posted a better record than last year’s 26-6 campaign. They trailed in the fifth set of the Section 3 championship against Rosemount but won that match, too.

“I feel like family’s a big word for us,” Kennedi said, “and that really helps us getting through situations like that.”

Brie Orr, who has committed to Iowa, had 33 kills in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Orr, Doucette and junior Taylor Olstad had each played in two title matches before this season.

The Lakers were looking for the school’s first non-coop state title since 1978. The team hadn’t lost a set in this year’s state tournament before Saturday.

The team graduated four seniors from last year’s 27-3 squad, including all-state libero Brittany Leuthmers. It won a program-record 28 games this season, despite losing captains and four-year letter winners Olivia Spanton and Lara Schultz to injuries.

“I think it speaks to the mental toughness of this team,” Dean said.

The Lakers weathered early losses to Champlin Park and Eagan and won 25 of their final 28 matches. That included a two-set tournament victory over the Wildcats in a September tournament.

Francis, a Star Tribune all-metro team selection, led the Lakers with more than 400 kills.

First report

Eagan’s Ally Murphy hit the match-clinching kill in the fifth set, as the Wildcats (28-4) defeated top-seeded Prior Lake (28-5) to win its second title in four years.

The second-seeded Wildcats won the first two sets 25-17 and 25-23 before Prior Lake won the next two 25-15 and 25-16. The teams were tied at 13 in the fifth set, but Eagan’s Alyssa Doucette and Murphy hit consecutive kills.

Junior Brie Orr led Eagan with 16 kills and 31 assists. Seventh-grader Kennedi Orr added 19 assists, and Murphy posted 13 kills.

Prior Lake was making its first state tournament appearance. Senior Ella Francis led the team with 18 kills and Ellie Veldman added 48 assists.

Check back later for more on the match.