EVELETH - Northeast Range Head Coach Jim Mackai expected a battle from South Ridge and he got it as the two teams tussled at the Section 7A volleyball playoffs here. When it was all over, however, the Nighthawks emerged with a 3-1 victory over the Panthers.

“The match could have gone either way,” said Mackai, who said the scores (25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 25,23) reflected that observation.

Panthers Head Coach Brad Olesiak agreed.

“Every game was hard fought,” he said. “We had a few critical mistakes at critical times, but our girls played very well.”

The Nighthawks took the first game 25-21, but fell behind early in the second game as the Panthers vaulted to a 9-0 lead. Northeast Range rallied to tie the game at 22-22, but an errant serve put the Panthers ahead 24-23. South Ridge closed out the game with a kill by Mallory Thibault for the 25-23 win.

‘South Ridge and Northeast Range scrapped for every point in the third and fourth games, both of which feartured some spectacular defensive play and long volleys.

“Both teams tried to find weaknesses on the other team and at times we did,” said Mackai.

In game three, the Nighthawks pulled ahead for good after coming back from a four-point deficit, while game four went down to the wire with the two teams swapping points before the Nighthawks put the game away with back-to-back kills by Danielle and Katie Lenci.

Danielle Lenci finished with a team-high 18 kills and added 17 digs while Katie Lenci tallied 15 digs and nine kills.

Brielle Wills added 21 digs and 15 kills while Signe Scholl recorded 49 set assists.Tori Barsness chipped in with three kills.

South Ridge’s Justice Janke pounded down 15 kills and recorded 19 digs. Teammate Mikayla Olesiak finished the night with 12 digs and four ace serves, while Callie Thomason had 27 set assists and two ace serves. Krystal Karppinen contributed seven kills, 18 digs and three blocks, while Thibault recorded five kills, nine digs and a pair of blocks.

The Panthers had an exceptional season, finishing with an 18-4 record, despite losing a dozen of last year’s players to graduation.

“We’re a young team, so all of our starters will be back,” said Olesiak, who is stressing more weight training for his squad. “We’ve got a beautiful weight room and we need to have more girls using it. We’ll also be emphasizing plyometrics — jumping exercises — for our girls.”

Meanwhile, Mackai is preparing for Wednesday’s semifinal game against the Grizzlies.

“We know they’ve got a powerhouse over there,” he said, “but our girls are confident and we’re playing at the level we want to be right now.”

The playoff game begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Virginia High School, following the 6 p.m. game between Littlefork-Big Falls and Carlton.