The Royals swept the Rugby Panthers 3-0 in their semifinals match. The Panthers beat out the Stanley Blue Jays on Monday, Nov. 10, in their quarterfinals match. The first-seeded Royals earned a bye for the first round of the region tournament.

The Royals had a solid lead over the Panthers through the first set of the match, and took the first set with a final score of 25-18. Rugby showed resolve through the second set of the match, taking the lead 4-0 before the Royals were able to score a point. South Prairie-Max was able to score the next point, and caught up to the Panthers until the teams were tied 7-7. From there, the set was neck and neck until the Royals led 17-16 where they took the definitive lead, ending the set with their second win 25-18.

The Royals’ momentum carried them through the third set, giving them an early 5-1 lead. The Panthers were able to make their way to tie the game at 12-12, and taking the lead at 12-13. The Royals were able to quickly regain control of the set, leading again at 14-13, where they kept their lead through the end of the set, winning them their third set and punching their ticket to the region finals.

Royals junior outside hitter Keira Francis and senior outside hitter Skotti Beck tied for the most kills on their team with 15 each and sophomore setter Bailey McQueen led the team with assists, totalling 22 by the end of the match. Senior Alli Blessum and junior Samantha Blessum had the two highest number of kills for the Rugby Panthers, earning 13 and ten kills respectively.

Nathan Beitler/MDN South Prairie-Max senior middle blocker (No. 5) Hattie Heer spikes the ball over the net in their semifinal match against the Rugby Panthers on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at the MSU Dome

The Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers and the Turtle Mountain Community High School Braves faced off in their semifinals match 25 minutes after the conclusion of the Royals/Panthers match. The Lakers swept the Braves 3-0, taking their first set with a decisive 25-13. The game was neck and neck through a score of 7-7, but the Lakers took the lead at 10-8 and never gave it back. The Braves were able to secure themselves a solid lead in the early points of the second set with a 5-2 lead over the Lakers at one point. Turtle Mountain Community kept their lead until a score of 7-7, where the Lakers took over, but the Braves weren’t out yet. They fought their way back against the Lakers to tie the game at 12-12, taking the lead back and holding it until they were 21-20. The Lakers were able to tie the set once again at 22-22, and took the lead at 23-22, finishing the set with a score of 25-22. The Lakers were able to continue their momentum through to the beginning of the third set, taking the lead at 2-1, and holding it to the very end. The third and final set of the match ended with another set victory for the Lakers 25-12 and a final match score of 3-0.

Senior middleblocker Mycah Faken led the Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers in kills in their Tuesday night match with 11 and junior setter Hailey Goetz topped out the teams’ assists with 15. Junior Irelei Zerr led the Braves in kills with a total of ten over the course of the match, and senior Akealyes Azure led them in assists with 15.

The Rugby High School Panthers and the Turtle Mountain Community High School Braves will face off in the Region 3A third place match at the MSU Dome starting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday night, Nov. 13. The Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers and the South Prairie-Max Royals will play in the finals match on Thursday, Nov. 13, scheduled to begin 25 minutes after the conclusion of the third place match.