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In what could’ve determined the Mississippi 8 Conference championship, the North Branch Vikings swept the previously unbeaten Princeton Tigers on Tuesday, October 2.

Princeton, who was 6-0 in the conference heading into the game, played a tight contest in the first set, but NB won 28-26, and then the Vikings took control, winning 25-18, 25-20 to finish the sweep.

Sophia Benedict had 16 kills and Dakota Esget had 14 kills. Jo Bartkey had six kills and four blocks and Jenna Minke had 35 assists.

The Vikings kept their chase for a Mississippi 8 Conference title alive before the Princeton showdown with 3-0 wins over Cambridge-Isanti and Zimmerman last week.

They cruised past both opponents, with the Vikes beating the Bluejackets 25-17, 25-15 and 25-17.

Against the Thunder, it was much of the same. North Branch was especially amped up with it being homecoming week and hosting Zimmerman, and they crushed them 25-11, 25-14 and 25-12 in the three set sweep.

Esget andBenedict led the offense with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Avery Smith added eight kills for the Vikings as the Thunder defense was no match.

Jenna Minke dished out 40 assists, which is a ridiculous number in a three set sweep. It means Zimmerman wasn’t necessarily making mistakes, North Branch’s offense was just hammering away point after point. She also had four aces as the team piled up nine on the night.

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