Lakeville North is ranked No. 2, Northfield No. 4, Lakeville South No. 6 and Mayo and Rochester Century have been swirling right around the bottom of the rankings all season. One of those team will be on the visitors' side in the section quarterfinals, which begin Oct. 27. Northfield (19-2, 9-0 Big 9) now has beaten each of the others during the regular season, although none of the victories have been decisive.

As Addison pointed out before Tuesday's game, the Raiders needed five sets to beat Century and Mayo and beat Lakeville North and Lakeville South in a best-of-three tournament setting. "We beat (Lakeville North and Lakeville South)," Addison said, "but they were best-of-three, and a lot of times defenses will have more time to react in a best-of-five."

The senior middle was prescient, because after scratching out five- and six-point victories in the first two sets, Northfield's passing game deflated a bit and Mayo took charge, winning the next two sets and forcing a decisive fifth set.

"We don't go five sets a lot in our conference," Northfield coach Tim Torstenson said. "To get that experience is good for us going into sections."

The Raiders' problem in the passing game showed up in its hitting statistics. The Raiders, led by the strong arms of seniors Teagan Timperley and Sydney Jaynes, turned in hitting percentages of .324 in the first set and .462 in the second before falling to .242 and .211 in sets 3-4. The inability to maintain a consistent passing game in those sets allowed Mayo right back into the game, Torstenson said. 

And Mayo took advantage. The Spartans (16-4, 7-2) took a 5-5 game in the third set to 13-8 and never let the Raiders get back in stride. Northfield managed to take a 13-10 lead in the fourth set before Mayo rallied again to tie the game at 17-17. It was point-for-point the rest of the way, with the Spartans finally winning 28-26.

Northfield’s hitting returned in the fifth set. The Raiders hit at a .750 clip and won 15-6. A victory at Faribault on Thursday will all but sew up a Big 9 Conference championship for the Raiders, who have a one-game lead on Century (9-1) and the advantage of having beaten the Panthers. The Raiders close out the season Oct. 18 at home against Rochester John Marshall.

Teagan Jaynes, a sophomore, led the Raiders with 51 assists and three blocks. Her sister, senior Sydney Jaynes, led the team with 19 kills while Timperley had 16.

Part of Mayo's resurgence Tuesday came from the play of reserve junior Claire Siems, who took control of the Spartans' passing game in the third set as starter Maria Winter wilted with a lingering cold. The breather helped both Winter, who continued to be a force at the net, and the Spartans, who pushed Northfield to the limit.

"All of these games are important, for seedings, for conference, for emotions," Mayo coach Deb Frederick said. "But we played well — except at the start. They were the better team."

Frederick said the disappointment of two five-set losses to key section opponents — the Spartans lost in five sets to Century last week — hasn't crushed her teams' expectations.

"From the quarterfinals to the semifinals to the final, it's going to be blood, sweat and tears," she said of the upcoming section tournament.