Eagan edges Prior Lake for Class 3A volleyball title

Eagan's Ally Murphy hit the match-clinching kill in the fifth set as the Wildcats (28-4) defeated top-seeded Prior Lake (28-5) to win their second Class 3A title in three years.

The second-seeded Wildcats won the first two sets 25-17 and 25-23 before Prior Lake won the next two 25-15 and 25-16. The teams were tied at 13 in the fifth set, but Eagan's Alyssa Doucette and Murphy hit consecutive kills.

Junior Brie Orr led Eagan with 16 kills and 31 assists. Seventh-grader Kennedi Orr added 19 assists, and Murphy posted 13 kills.

Prior Lake was making its first state tournament appearance. Senior Ella Francis led the team with 18 kills, sophomore Kayla Blair had 14 and Ellie Veldman had 48 assists.

Eagan lost the 2014 championship game against Chaska last season after winning it in 2013. The team lost five seniors from last year's squad and didn't have a single senior this year.

Despite that youth, the Wildcats posted a better record than last year's 26-6 campaign. They defeated Rochester Mayo in the quarterfinals before beating Champlin Park in four sets in Friday's semifinals.

Brie Orr, who has committed to Iowa, had 33 kills in those two matches. She, Doucette and junior Taylor Olstad had each played in two title matches before this season.

It won a program-record 28 games this season, despite losing captains and four-year letter winners Olivia Spanton and Lara Schultz to injuries. The team graduated four seniors from last year's 27-3 squad, including all-state libero Brittany Leuthmers.

The Lakers weathered early losses to Champlin Park and Eagan and won 25 of their final 28 matches. That included a two-set tournament win over the Wildcats in a September tournament.