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Northside’s most successful volleyball season in recent history ended with a third round playoff loss to Oxford Prep Thursday night at home.

The third-seeded Panthers (20-3) lost, 3-1, to the 11^th seeded Griffins (21-4) after a third set rally that extended the season.

Northside led 9-5 in the first set before the Griffins rallied late for a 25-21 victory.

The Panthers faltered early in the second and trailed 10-3, then fought back to trail 21-19 before falling 25-20.

The team I’ve seen all season showed up in the third set,” coach Michelle Leathers said. “We seemed to have momentum, but they are a good team and we couldn’t dig ourselves all the way out of that early hole.”

Northside jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the third set and won 25-18.

They led 14-12 in the pivotal fourth set, but Oxford Prep came back for a 25-16 win to advance to Saturday’s fourth round.

“It didn’t end like we wanted, but it was still an awesome season,” Leathers said. “We won our conference for the first time ever and won two tournament games. I’m proud of my girls and Oxford Prep played well. Thanks to all the team parents and our fans for supporting us this season.”