Lakeville South advanced to the Class 4A girls volleyball state championship match Thursday with a three-set victory over Roseville in the semifinals.

The tournament is taking place at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

The Cougars, the No. 1 seed in the 4A bracket, used a 14-6 run to close out a 25-17 first-set victory. They took a 14-4 lead in the second set, only to see Roseville embark on a furious rally to close the gap. The Raiders cut the Cougars lead to a single point twice, but couldn't quite finish as Lakeville South won the set, 25-23.

Roseville, disappointed at being unable to close out its furious second-set rally, couldn't maintain that same level of energy in the third, and lost the deciding set 25-11.

Lakeville South improved to 31-2 and will make its first championship match appearance. The Cougars will face the winner of the Champlin Park-East Ridge semifinal on Saturday at 7 p.m. Roseville fell to 27-6 and will play for third place against the loser of the Champlin Park-East Ridge semifinal at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

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