Lakers are staying STRONG!!!

Posted: Sunday, September 27, 2015 2:30 pm By Tom Schardin, tschardin@swpub.com

 Talent combined with depth can be a beautiful thing.

 The No. 2-ranked Prior Lake volleyball team has both and it showed at the Eagle Invitational Sept. 25-26. The Eagles went 4-0 to win the crown, sweeping No. 1 Eagan in the title match (25-16, 27-25).

 Prior Lake earned a sweep of Apple Valley in the semifinals (25-21, 25-14) and went 2-0 in pool play Sept. 25 with three-set win over No. 4 Roseville (25-22, 21-25, 15-7) and a sweep over Hopkins (25-16, 25-14).

 The Lakers (13-3 overall) were able to avenge a four-set loss to Eagan in South Suburban Conference play Sept. 15. In the rematch, Prior Lake played without senior Lara Schultz, while senior Olivia Spanton got hurt in the first set.

Schultz, the Lakers' leader in kills last year, didn't play the entire invite, nursing an injury. Spanton hurt her knee midway through the first set in the title match.

 The Lakers finished off Eagan in the first set after Spanton went down and then held off the Wildcats in the second set without her for the sweep. Senior Ella Francis led the way with 11 kills.

 Francis has 222 kills in 16 matches to lead the Lakers. She's averaging more than five kills per set. She's playing as good as any hitter in the state right now. She has 13 matches with double-digit kills and three with 20-plus.

 “It’s really hard seeing anyone go down, but (Olivia) pulled us over and kind of told us that we need to keep playing for her," Francis told the Minnesota Volleyball Hub. "She’s going to be fine, just go out there and win like we know we can.

 "We really wanted to play for her and pull out a win definitely because she went down," added Francis.

 Here's a fun fact. The last 10 winners of the Eagle Invitational have gone on to win the Class 3A state title. Eagan did it 2013, as did Lakeville North in 2012. Shakopee did it three straight years (2007-09).

In the last nine years, the Eagle invite winner has at least qualified for state. Apple Valley won its own invite in 2005, but lost in section play that year.

 Prior Lake has never qualified for state. The Lakers lost in the Section 2AAA title match last year to Chaska in three sets. The Hawks went on to win the state crown, while Prior Lake ended with a program-best 27-3 mark.

In the Eagle invite title match, junior Anna Martin chipped in three kills and two blocks for the Lakers. Junior Ellie Veldman led in set assists with 14, while sophomore CC McGraw finished with a team-best 15 digs, while Veldman had 11.

Senior Danielle Sorensen had two ace serves for the Lakers.

Against Apple Valley, Francis had 10 kills to lead the way, followed by Martin with six, sophomore Kayla Bair with five, Spanton with four and sophomore Maddy Bremer with three.

 Veldman had 22 set assists to pace the offense.

 In beating Roseville, Francis led with 11 kills, while Martin had six. Veldman had 23 assists and eight digs. McGraw led in digs with 16, while Spanton had nine and sophomore Hannah Reis had eight.

Bair had five blocks, while Francis, Bremer and Veldman both had three. Bremer and Spanton both had two ace serves.

Against Hopkins, Francis had nine kills, while Spanton had seven. Veldman had 19 assists, while senior Mara Fossum had six. Bremer and Spanton both had two ace serves. McGraw led in digs with 17.

Prior Lake went into the invite sweeping Lakeville North Sept. 24 in a South Suburban Conference match (25-11, 25-22, 25-14). The Lakers are 2-1 in league play.

 Francis led in kills with 11, while Spanton had eight and Bremer had seven. Veldman had 18 assists, followed by Fossum with nine. Veldman, Fossum and Spanton each had two ace serves.

McGraw finished with 15 digs, while Spanton had 10. Bremer led in blocks with four.

 Prior Lake is back in SSC action Sept. 29 at home versus Shakopee at 7 p.m.