Panthers continue winning ways over Cards

South Ridge and Cromwell-Wright girls volleyball met for the third time this season on Friday, and the Panthers emerged victorious for the third time, knocking the Cardinals out of the playoffs.

Seeded No. 2 in the south 7AA subsection, the Panthers won 3-1 and earned a spot in the semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 1 against Ely, with the game to be played in Virginia at Rock Ridge High School. Ely is the No. 1 seed in the north part of the section. The loss by Cromwell-Wright (ranked No. 3 in the south subsection) ended their season with a record of 17-8.

The other semifinal on Wednesday featured No. 1 Floodwood taking on the No. 2 seed North Woods.

Plenty of action led up to those semifinal games, as the Section 7A volleyball tournament opened last week with one play-in game on Oct. 23 followed by a host of games throughout the week.

Opening the tournament Oct. 23 was Fond du Lac. The Ogichidaa traveled to take on the Cherry Tigers. The young FDL squad fell 3-0 on the scoreboard and finished the season with a 4-13 record.

Cromwell-Wright took on Cook County in Cromwell on Oct. 23. The Cards came out victorious by a score of 3-0, and the win pushed them into the quarterfinal round Oct. 25.

Also on Oct. 23, South Ridge downed Lakeview Christian Academy, 3-0, to move on to the quarterfinals.

Carlton/Wrenshall also opened play last Oct. 23, but ran into a tough Silver Bay squad and fell by a 3-1 score. The Raptors wrapped up the season with a record of 8-16.

Look for results of Wednesday night's 7A semifinal games in next week's Pine Knot News.