The Lakers (26-2) will take on fifth-seeded Shakopee (18-10) at home Oct. 28 in the semifinals at 7 p.m. The other semifinal features second-seeded Chaksa (24-3) versus third-seeded Delano (23-4).

The winners will meet in the title match Nov. 1 at a site still to be determined at 6 p.m.

The Lakers beat Shakopee in four sets (26-24, 22-25, 25-14, 25-18) in South Suburban Conference play en route to a perfect 9-0 season in the league.

Meanwhile, in the quarterfinal win, Buffalo proved scrappy in the first set. The Bison led 20-16 at one point, before the Lakers rallied. The Bison had six set points, but couldn't convert any of them, leaving the door open for Schultz or Francis to steal the set with a thunderous kill.

And that's exactly what happened. The Lakers dominated the next two sets. Whenever Prior Lake needed a point, it seemed like Schultz and Francis were there to provide it.

The duo was just too physically powerful for the Bison to contend on the outside. They had 39 of the Lakers' 47 kills.

Senior Sammi Pratt and sophomore Ellie Veldman made sure Schultz and Francis got the ball in good attacking position, finishing with 23 and 16 set assists, respectively.

Schultz was also dominant at the service line. Her laser-like jump serve produced five aces. Junior Olivia Spanton had three aces, while ninth-grader CC McGraw chipped in two.

On defense, senior Brittany Luethmers finished with 14 digs, followed by McGraw with seven, Pratt with five and Spanton with four. Schultz and ninth-grader Kayla Bair each had a block.

Schultz' five ace serves give her a team-best 72 on the season, which is also a single-season school record. She broke Lauren Viren's and Leah Howard's mark of 61.

Heading into the semifinals, Schultz is leading the Lakers with 321 kills. The school record for kills in a season is 422 by Viren in 2003

Francis has 297 kills, followed by Spanton (161), McGraw (132) and sophomore Anna Martin (104).

Behind Schultz in ace serves is Pratt with 40 and McGraw with 33. Pratt is leading in set assists with 462, followed by Veldman with 404.

In digs, Luethmers has 484 digs, which is 10 off her own single-season school record. She is already the Minnesota State High School League all-time digs leader. McGraw has 256 digs, followed by Spanton (216), Pratt (136) and Veldman (110).

In blocks, Schultz is leading with 30, followed by Francis with 24 and Martin with 23.

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