MARSHALL, Minn. -- The fourth-ranked Lakeville North Panthers dropped its first match of the season, in the semifinals, but rebounded to end the Southwest Minnesota Challenge with a victory to finish 4-1 and third in the 14th annual event.

The Panthers opened tournament play with a quick two-set win over Fergus Falls.

Maddy Hornyak accounted for 10.5 points with seven kills, three aces and a block assist as all 11 North players accounted for points.

A balanced attack saw six players record at least three kills while seven players record aces, led by Hornyak and Hannah Nietfeld with three apiece.

North held serve on 68 percent of its attempts while siding out at a 70 percent clip.

Savannah Polzin came off the bench to contribute eight kills and a .538 hitting percentage as the Panthers advanced to the tournament quarterfinals.

Maddy Hornyak had a match-high 12 kills while Abby Milner added five kills to a team total of 35 kills as North hit .333.

Halle Wolfe had 11 kills to lead the Panthers in the back row while Hornyak and Abby Jandro each had five. Jandro also had 26 assists and set .472.

The Panthers opened championship-round play, Saturday morning, by knocking off the sixth-ranked Division I team in Wisconsin, River Falls.

The Wildcats were on the verge of claiming the opening set, serving for set point at 24-23, but a kill by Bailey Leeke tied the score and, two points later, Abbey Milner put away one of her four kills for give North the first-set victory.

The Panthers didn't take a lead in the second set until Savannah Polzin recorded a kill to break tie the score at 4-4 and she served two points to give North the lead for good.

Polzin, who had 10 points while adding three aces, led the Panthers with seven kills while Hornyak and Ella Thompson each had five.

Hornyak also had nine digs while Halle Wolfe had 14 as North advanced to the semifinals and a showdown with Section 1 foe and seventh-ranked Northfield.

North's seven-match winning streak came to a halt when it dropped a two-set match to Northfield in the semifinals.

After falling by eight points in the first set, the Panthers did not trail in the second set until the Raiders scored the final five points of set, after trailing 23-20.

Northfield succeeded in keeping the ball away from North co-captain and Drake-bound libero Halle Wolfe, as the Raiders hit .312 while Wolfe did not record a dig in the match for the first time in career.

The remaining eight Panther players all recorded at least one dig as Northfield managed to attack all over the court, hitting .312 with 34 kills.

Maddy Hornyak led North with six kills, two aces, 22 service receptions and 11 digs.

A 12-2 run in the second set blew open a match in which the Lakeville rivals had fought to a near standstill as North defeated South in the third-place match of the Southwest Minnesota Challenge.

South, which trailed 4-0 early in the opening set, fought back to take a short-lived 10-9 lead. However, Abbey Milner's kill tied the score at 10-10 and she then served seven consecutive points to give the Panthers a lead they would not relinquish.

North's run in the second set was fueled by the service of Halle Wolfe, who served her team to a 16-11 lead with five consecutive points, and Hannah Nietfeld served five points to give her team a 22-12 lead.

Nietfeld, Wolfe and Milner all served for seven points on the night.

Milner also had seven kills and a block assist to account for 9.5 points while Maddy Hornyak had 11 kills to lead both teams.

The two teams are set to meet in a South Suburban Conference match, Thursday at Lakeville North, following the Panthers' conference opener, Tuesday, versus Farmington at 7 p.m. at North High School.