Submitted Photo South Prairie-Max sophomore Reagan Trudell serves the ball in the 2025 NDHSAA Region 3A Volleyball held at the Minot State Dome this week. The Royals earned their second regional title in a row and the first Region 3A title in the newly-formed Class A. Photo by Sadie Wininger.

The South Prairie-Max Royals secured the first NDHSAA Region 3A Volleyball title of the new division in their finals match against the Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers 3-1 on Thursday night, Nov. 13, at the Minot State Dome.

The Lakers took the first set of the match in a close 25-23 victory over the Royals, but South Prairie-Max was able to cleanly sweep the last three sets of the match to earn their second regional title in a row.

The Royals dominated in the second set of the match, taking it 25-13, but the Lakers were not easy to put down in set 3. The Lakers fought neck and neck with the Royals, keeping pace through to a score of 10-10. The Royals were able to take the lead once again, but the Lakers were never more than a few points behind. The Lakers fought their way back up to a tie with the Royals at 19-19, but South Prairie-Max sprinted through the last few points of the set, claiming victory at 20-25 to lead the match for the first time 2-1. In the beginning of the fourth set of the match, the Royals had settled into their groove. They were able to score six unanswered points in a row before the Lakers responded in a 6-1 score. Des Lacs-Burlington began to work their way back up to a 6-8 score, but the Royals went on another six-point tear, leading 14-6. The Royals continued to push the Lakers, taking a wider and wider lead until they were able to close out the fourth set of the match with a 25-12 victory.

The Royals secured the Region 3A title for their second title victory in a row. This year, they moved from Class B to the newly-formed Class A as North Dakota shifted to a three-class system at the start of this year.

The conclusion of Thursday’s finals match means that the Royals get another shot at a state championship for the second year in row, making their first state appearance last year when they fell to Langdon Area/Munich in the tournament finals 3-1. South Prairie-Max’s outside hitter Skotti Beck was awarded the Senior Athlete of the Year award and Royals head coach Lisa McQueen earned the Coach of the Year award after the conclusion of the finals match.

Beck ended the night with the most kills on the team, totalling 21 over the course of the match with junior Keira Francis as runner-up with 19. Beck also earned the most aces and digs in the match with three and 14 respectively. The Royals improve on the season with a new record of 33-3-1 with their victory in the region finals.

The Lakers will compete in a state qualifiers match to be held this Saturday, Nov. 15.