TRENTON — Having just wrapped up regular-season play on Tuesday, the Northside volleyball team couldn’t be entering the playoffs on a better note. The Panthers swept aside Jones Senior in three sets, 25-13, 25-8, 25-15, for their seventh-consecutive victory, a run in which Northside has lost only one set.

“It feels real good,” Northside head coach Michelle Leathers said. “The girls are excited, and just to come off of seven in a row. We got something still to look forward to (in the playoffs).”

The Panthers (10-5, 8-4 1A Coastal Plains Conference) were in control from the very start, dominating play with their serving and playing with their usual hustle and effort. At one point in the match, Northside’s Kathleen Slade served for 13-straight points, as Jones Senior (0-9, 0-6 1A CPC) couldn’t cope.

Leathers described the win as a team effort, with multiple players contributing. Logan Jefferson and Katie Godley provided the team’s hitting at the net, with Jessica Foster setting them up. Mattie Respess and Amelia Woolard joined Slade with having strong games serving.

Even with the joy of closing out the regular season on a high, Leathers was quick to praise the Trojans, who just returned to the court this week after over a month off due to damage from Hurricane Florence.

“I know it had been some time since Jones Senior had played. But I do take my hat off because they still played hard and never gave up,” Leathers said.

As Tuesday was Northside’s final game of the regular season, Leathers’ team has downtime until next Tuesday, when the first round of the playoffs will be played. Northside’s coach said her team’s recent playoff experience has prepared the Panthers for the single-elimination tournament.

“We’ve been here before; we were here last year (and) the year before,” Leathers said. “Coming into the playoffs last year, I don’t think a lot of people felt like we were going to win and we did. We just took it one game at a time. Can’t look past any games.”

Northside will find out its seeding in the playoffs on Monday.